Venus Williams Wins Singles Gold in Sydney

S Y D N E Y, Australia, Sept. 27 -- Even in celebration, Venus Williams isa captivating force on a tennis court.

This time, the jubilant champion thrust her arms skyward, bowedand twirled happily at the net. Then she borrowed an American flagfrom the stands and gave it a wave.

The sellout crowd cheered, and with good reason. Williams beat18-year-old Elena Dementieva 6-2, 6-4 today (Tuesday night ET)to clinch an Olympic gold medal.

The victory extended Williams’ winning streak to 32 matches, andshe became only the second player to win Wimbledon, the U.S. Openand the Olympics in the same year. Steffi Graf accomplished thefeat in 1988.

“I was ready to go out and take it and not just hope somebodygave it to me,” Williams said. “I guess I’ve graduated to adifferent level where I can be like some of the greats.”

Williams will try for her second gold when she and sister Serenaplay in the doubles final Thursday (Wednesday night ET) againstKristie Boogert and Miriam Oremans of the Netherlands.

The Belgian team of Dominique Van Roostand Els Callens won the Olympic bronze medal in women’s doubles, defeating Natasha Zvereva and Olga Barabanschikova of Belarus 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Streak Still Alive

Williams is unbeaten since losing at the French Open in earlyJune, and her winning streak is the longest since Martina Hingiswon 37 consecutive matches in 1997. Martina Navratilova set therecord of 74 victories in a row in 1984.

Like other opponents, Dementieva couldn’t cope with Williams’power. In the sixth game, the Russian barely avoided getting hit inthe face by an ace.

“I wasn’t ready for the second serve,” Dementieva said. “It was like a first serve.”

Williams wowed a crowd that included Serena and their mother,U.S. teammate and bronze medalist Monica Seles, coach Billie JeanKing and members of the U.S. swim team.

Even Williams was a bit overwhelmed by the performance. When shereceived her medal, she beamed and covered her face with her hands.