Williams Beats Seles, Goes to Gold Medal Match
S Y D N E Y, Australia, Sept. 25, 2000 -- Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles are
nice, but Venus Williams says her next match may be the biggest
yet.
The hottest player in tennis advanced to the Olympic final andextended her winning streak to 31 matches by beating Monica Seles6-1, 4-6, 6-3 today (Sunday night ET).
Williams said her appreciation of the Olympics has grown sinceshe arrived in Sydney.
“It’s probably bigger than a Grand Slam,” she said. “This ispossibly a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Everyone is coming out andplaying their best. It seems the ultimate thing is to have agold.”
Next Up: Dementieva
The second-seeded Williams’ opponent in the final Wednesday willbe No. 10 Elena Dementieva of Russia, who beat unseeded AustralianJelena Dokic 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. The third-seeded Seles will play Dokicfor the bronze.
Dementieva, 18, was a semifinalist at this year’s U.S. Open. Shewon her only previously match against Williams last year in FedCup.
“That was last year. This is different,” Dementieva said.“She’s playing very well now. I don’t know if I can beat her, butI’m happy to be in the final.”
Williams also remained in contention for the gold in doubleswith her sister Serena.
Two unseeded players, Arnaud Di Pasquale of France and TommyHaas of Germany, reached the men’s semifinals. Di Pasquale beat No.8 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 6-2, 6-1. Haas rallied past MaxMirnyi of Belarus 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Rushing the Net
Williams and Seles played the first match of the day before asubdued center court crowd. The gray, damp, chilly weather wasreminiscent of Wimbledon, and so was Williams’ performance.
She came to the net more than in previous matches at Sydney, andher power forced Seles to rush shots and often hit off balance.
“That was a tough match,” Seles said. “Venus played reallywell, and at the end it got really close, but she played the keypoints better.”
The first set in the all-American semifinal took just 18minutes. Williams led 4-2 in the second set, then began to strugglewith her serve, double-faulting five times in the next two servicegames — including twice on break point — to lose the set.
Williams regained her poise in the final set. She whacked threeconsecutive aces for a 3-1 lead, then erased two break points withbig serves in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead. On the first matchpoint, she belted a backhand winner down the line to complete thevictory.
“I had some rough patches, and it could have gone either way,”Williams said. “Usually when it comes down to it, I’m able toclose it out in important matches.”
Seles was once the hardest hitter in women’s tennis, but nomore. She fell to 0-5 against Williams.
U.S. coach Billie Jean King, wary of showing favoritism foreither player in her reactions, watched the match from the players’dining room rather than the stands.
“Venus seems to be tired, but she has been able to perform whenshe needs to perform,” King said. “When she needed it, she wasable to turn the flame up.”
Williams advanced to the semifinal Sunday with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4victory over Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Williams lost toSanchez-Vicario at the French Open, then began her winning streak,which has included titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.