Sport-Blog.com

Venus Williams showed the world that her tennis career is far from over, as she defeated Lindsay Davenport in the finals at Wimbledon. Williams' victory marked her first Grand Slam title since 2001, and her third Wimbledon championship overall. She previously won the prestigious tournament in 2000 and 2001, and lost to her sister, Serena, in the finals in 2002 and 2003. This year, in what was essentially a rematch of the 2000 finals, Venus needed three sets to finish off Davenport, who was the tournament's number one seed. In fact, the two hour and forty-five minute match was the longest in Wimbledon history for the women's finals.

Prior to this years' Wimbledon tournament, many people felt that Venus' tennis career had reached its peak. Venus turned 25 this year, which can be considered old for the sport, especially when there always seem to be new 16 and 17 year old "phenoms" coming up through the ranks each year. Venus herself burst onto the women's professional tennis scene in 1997, as a 17-year-old, by becoming reaching the finals of the U.S. Open, only to lose to Martina Hingis. She then won three tournaments in 1998, though none of them were majors, and followed that up with seven tournament victories in 1999, including the Italian Open, and the Doubles Championships, playing with sister Serena, at both the U.S. and French Open.

The next two years would prove to be the best in Venus' career. In 2000, she was the gold medallist in both singles and doubles at the Olympic Games in Sydney. Then she reeled off a couple of Grand Slam titles by winning Wimbledon, both singles and doubles, and the U.S. Open. In 2001, Venus and Serena again teamed up for a major doubles championship, this time winning the Austrailian Open. Venus then went on to win the singles finals of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, which was her last major title until today. She did manage to reach the finals in several Grand Slam events, including the French Open, Wimbledon, and the Australian Open during the course of the next two years, but settled for the runner-up trophy in each of those events.

For someone who was so used to dominating the competition and winning championships, it must have been hard to take. Williams' own father has been quoted as saying something to the effect that her head just isn't in tennis anymore.

Considering all of Venus' off-court commitments, it's really not that surprising that her father would say such a thing. For example, Venus has to make appearances for her sponsors, which include Wilson Racquet Sports, McDonald's, and American Express. She was in New York City in early May attending the launch party for the new Fruit and Walnut Salad from McDonald's. She has also been looking after her own interior design company, V Starr Interiors, since 2003.

Hopefully, today's victory at Wimbledon will spark a resurgence in Venus' career. She has shown that she has a lot of tennis left in her, so we just have to wait and see where her game goes from here.