United States Takes It to Russia, With Love

It may have been Billie Jean King’s greatest accomplishment this year as Fed Cup captain.

She wiped the frown off Venus Williams’ face.

King, perhaps, is the ideal mentor for the struggling older sister of U.S. Open champion Serena Williams. The psyche of Venus has been under scrutiny since 17-year-old Serena blasted her way past Martina Hingis in the Open final last weekend in New York.

Her decided lack of enthusiasm as a spectator in New York led to stories hinting at strife between the sisters. Venus denied that, saying here that “people love to say silly things, especially if it concerns us.”

Then the Fed Cup started and people were asking why Serena wasn’t playing singles. Venus Williams, 19, though ranked No. 3 in the world, isn’t used to the understudy role and is taking steps to correct it, announcing to King that she wants to be a serve-and-volley player.

Step 1 in that process was a little shaky, but Williams prevailed in the larger scheme of things on Saturday at Stanford University. She won the final four games in the opening singles match of the Fed Cup final against Russia, defeating 17th-ranked Elena Likhovtseva, 6-3, 6-4.

Second-ranked Lindsay Davenport of Newport Beach, also trying to rebound from U.S. Open disappointment, made it 2-0 for the heavily favored United States, beating 17-year-old Elena Dementieva, 6-4, 6-0, winning the final seven games.

She, too, was boosted by King’s positive energy.

“I’m just lucky Venus was here to take it all this week,” Davenport said. “All that energy was focused there.”

King: “We can refocus it back to you, if you want.”

King has been working on putting Williams back together again, namely her erratic serve. On Saturday, she tried serving and volleying, but Likhovtseva stung her several times with backhand cross-court passing shots. Nevertheless, King leaped out of her courtside chair and cheered when Williams volleyed successfully. And Venus even smiled a couple of times.

“I can get her to smile,” King said.

She can also get Williams to the net.

“I’ve been trying to convince her to serve and volley,” King said. “[Zina Garrison] and I both have. At Acona [Italy], she was open to it. But she said it here: ‘I want to be a serve and volleyer.’ Which is what I need to hear. It’s not going to work overnight. She’s got to keep trying it.”

Said Williams: “I definitely got more in today than usual. I’m volleying well. When I got in, I didn’t miss my volleys. Usually, I get out of control and start missing.”

For the Americans--one match away from winning the Fed Cup for the first time since 1996--this is almost like an exhibition, the chance to experiment in a low-key atmosphere.

But Likhovtseva felt she had the opportunity to press Williams.

“I think it could have been a little bit better from my side because I think I overrated, maybe, Venus,” she said. “I thought she would play maybe a little bit better than she did play.”

For Williams, it was a positive step to win a match so quickly after the Open.

“I just think it went good,” she said. “I was down a break in the second, but in my life, I’ve been down a lot. So I know I’ll come back.”