Williams Wins Gold at Olympic Tennis

S Y D N E Y, Australia, Sept. 26, 2000 -- Venus Williams stepped off the Olympicgold medal platform transformed in a way she never was when she wonWimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Gracious toward her rivals, considerate of her teammates,touched by a sense of history and fulfillment, Williams matured ina single transcendent moment into a champion who knows how to actlike one.

She did more than capture the gold in a 6-2, 6-4 rout ofRussia’s Elena Dementieva today. She did more than stretchher winning streak to 32 matches, and more than put the final touchon a scintillating summer.

Venus Williams grew up at the Sydney Games.

“I guess I’ve graduated to a different level where I can belike some of the greats,” she said.

There was no boasting in her words, no superiority in her voice.Rather, she sounded, at 20, as if she suddenly realized how goodshe has become.

Call to Duty

What had been missing, and what she now expressed, was arecognition of her duty to live up to her position the way the mostrespected champions do.

She spoke sympathetically about Lindsay Davenport, whose footinjury forced her out after a first-round win, and acknowledged thethreat Monica Seles posed in a tough three-set semifinals match.

“One of my only regrets is that Lindsay wasn’t here,” Williamssaid. “Potentially it could have been all three of us standingthere on the stand, in any order. I was fortunate enough to get thegold, but Monica could have won the match the way she played theother day. She could have won the gold.”

The Olympic tennis title is less prestigious and certainly lesslucrative than the Grand Slam tournaments Williams swept thissummer. But with the gold medal came a new perspective for her onthe importance of playing in the games.

“This is the one moment in time for me, for my country, for myfamily, for the team,” she said. “I felt really emotional [on thepodium]. I felt really excited. I watched the Olympics at home whenI was a kid, and it was one of my dreams for my dad to win anOlympic medal. It means a lot.”

Tennis great Billie Jean King, coach of the women’s team, andZina Garrison, the assistant coach, have been talking to Williamsabout being a “champion in life.”

“It’s amazing how the more you understand what makes you tick,and your strength about yourself as a human being, the more ithelps you as a player,” King said. “I think her belief in herselfright now is at an all-time high. She is becoming clearer andclearer about what makes her successful, what her weapons are, whatmakes her who she is.

“She’s learning how to win … and the more she wins, the moreshe wants it.”

Growing Up

Garrison has known Williams since she was a precocious littlegirl, and has seen her develop into a poised and ever-moreconfident young woman.

“She’s willing to learn the little things on court, and off thecourt as well, to make her the champion that she can be,” Garrisonsaid.

On the court, King and Garrison have worked on Williams’ smallfaults, telling her to keep her head still on her forehand, to moveher head more to the right on her serve. They urged her to go morefor the “shwing” volley — the hip-high approach volley frommidcourt that Williams loves so much.

During the past few years, many tennis “experts” havecriticized Williams and her sister, Serena — who was born inSaginaw, Mich.— saying they lack proper technique, court sense andtactics.

Those “experts” blame the problems on the sisters’parents, Richard and Oracene, who have been coaching them theirwhole lives without any formal background in the sport. If only theWilliams sisters had professional coaches, the critics claim, theycould really be something.

The quick answer is that they already are really something,Venus with her two majors and Olympic gold, Serena with her U.S.Open at 17 last year. When they play for the doubles gold Thursday,they’ll be going for their 22nd straight victory as a team.

Playing Smart Tennis

The Williams sisters may be faster and stronger than most oftheir rivals, but they also play smart tennis.

If their parents didn’t teach them every nuance of the game,they encouraged them to think for themselves on the court, to learnas they go. And that’s exactly what Venus and Serena have done.

They don’t look up in the stands at their parents for help orreassurance during a match, the way Martina Hingis looks toward hermother. Rather, they adjust strokes and strategy on their own,coaching themselves, improving match to match, tournament totournament.

“Venus is much more astute in the game than people realize, andshe does pay attention,” Garrison said. “She’s studying the game.We keep forgetting, she’s still 20 years old.”