"Venus Williams Wins 2007 Wimbledon, Ups To 6 Grand Slam Titles"
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 July 7, 2007
Marion Bartoli hit the ball to the corners, aiming her two-handed forehands and deceptively quick backhands as far from Venus Williams as the lines on the court would allow. But the court was too small for Bartoli to have a chance. The 6-foot-1 Williams, with a lunging stride and long arms, seemed to reach them all.
In doing so Saturday, Williams won her fourth Wimbledon title, probably her unlikeliest, adding to the championships she won in 2000, 2001 and 2005.
With a Center Court crowd pulling for an upset, or at least a close match, Williams never allowed the hope to settle in. Her 6-4, 6-1 victory over the 18th-seeded Bartoli came with the same relative ease that Williams had in her three preceding two-set matches, in which she knocked out No. 2 Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals.
Those victories followed much tighter victories over unsung players in the first week.
"This win, it's so much different from the others, because the other ones I felt like I was playing in championship form from Minute 1," said Williams, who has six Grand Slam titles.
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Venus Williams took her fourth Wimbledon championship Saturday, 07/07/07 with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Marion Bartoli. Williams also won in 2000, 2001 and 2005. |
She became the first woman at Wimbledon to win the same prize money as the men's champion - roughly $1.4 million.
Williams's performance further discombobulates the power structure in women's tennis. The Williams sisters - Venus, 27, and Serena, 25 - appear to still have the most talent, when they are healthy and hungry.
Serena Williams was unseeded in January when she won the Australian Open and ranks eighth. Venus Williams entered Wimbledon ranked 31st, and will jump to No. 19.
"As long as we're fit, we just have so much to give on the court," Venus Williams said, before offering what was not intended to sound like a threat. "Obviously, I feel fantastic. My sixth Slam. I want some more."
"I think the world No. 1 on grass is Venus," said Bartoli, who beat the No. 1-ranked Henin in the semifinals.
Williams broke Bartoli's serve in the match's second game, then gave it back later in the set. But when Bartoli served with Williams leading by 5-4, Williams put away a backhand to secure the set.
The second set felt more like a slow coronation for Williams, who became the fourth woman of the Open era, starting in 1968, to win four Wimbledon titles, joining Martina Navratilova (nine), Steffi Graf (seven) and Billie Jean King (six, two before the Open era). Navratilova and King watched from the royal box.
Excerpted from New York Times |
