Friday, July 06, 2007

Venus Returns to Victorious Form

Age and injury have taken their toll on Venus and Serena Williams over the past few years. So it was really nice to see Venus advancing to the Wimbledon finals today. She'll face a relative unknown, Marion Bartoli of France who upset top-ranked Justine Henin.

Win or lose tomorrow, Venus's success at Wimbledon and her sister Serena's victory at the Australian Open last January signals a return to form to the dynamic tennis duo. Injuries have kept them out of the tennis spotlight the past few years and in their absence, no American woman has really stepped forward to compete with the likes of Henin and Sharapova on the international level.

Watching Venus today, I have to believe that many tennis fans actually missed seeing her and Serena at the Grand Slam competitions, and in fact, how much this sport needs them. Current top players like Henin and Sharapova are more refined and polite, while Venus and Serena can be brash and controversial. But love them or hate them, they bring a lot of life to the sport.

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