Williams Still Has Walk of Champion

When Venus Williams was asked how she stays so humble by a male photographer, she didn’t quite know how to take the question Sunday. Neither did the reporters in the interview room, some of them speculating about the guy’s survival skills if he had asked Serena Williams the same thing.

Venus Williams gave him The Look.

“Are you exaggerating?” she said.

Assured that, no, the Wimbledon champion wasn’t being mocked after her third consecutive title and 15th consecutive match victory--defeating fourth-seeded Monica Seles, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-3, in the Acura Classic final--Williams gave him a reprieve and spoke about the issue of humility.

“I don’t know. I think, at times I’m humble. And other times, I’m not,” she said. “I just try to be fair and say what happened. It just so happens that I play very good tennis. I’m very powerful and very talented.

“And that’s a fact. But there’s a lot of other players who are very talented.”

The fact is also that Williams has been the best player in the world since Wimbledon. Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport are ranked ahead of Williams, but that has been rendered a technicality these last few weeks.

Williams, seeded third, prevailed on hot, sunny day at La Costa Resort & Spa in 1 hour 44 minutes. She wasn’t feeling great, slightly nauseous and had more exciting things to consider. A helicopter was waiting to carry her and younger sister Serena to the Teen Choice Awards--and a potential meeting with singer Enrique Iglesias.

There was this pesky matter of dealing with Seles. The helicopter probably prepared for liftoff after Williams won the first set in 18 minutes. Seles won only eight points in the opening set, two on Williams’ serve.

“My feet were like dead out there,” said Seles, also hampered by a blister on her left hand. “I hadn’t played a day match in a while, I felt like I was still asleep. I thought I better wake up or this is going to be over in 20 minutes.”

But give Seles credit. She remained resolute, and Williams started making unforced errors. Once Seles reached the second-set tiebreaker, she had to like her chances, having won two earlier in the tournament, one against Sandrine Testud and the other against Anna Kournikova.

The key point in the tiebreaker came when Williams smacked a high-swinging forehand volley into the net, giving Seles a 4-2 lead. Williams also double-faulted three times in the tiebreaker, including on set point.

Williams regained her momentum in the third, taking a 4-1 lead. Still, Seles had enough for one final charge, breaking Williams at 4-2 with a sharp backhand return winner. Then Seles gave the break away the next game.

Williams, serving for the match at 5-3, opened with an ace, a backhand winner down the line and a service winner. She hit a backhand wide on her first match point but closed it out with a huge serve (118 mph) and forehand winner off Seles’ return.

Williams only lost one set in four matches, to Seles, despite having problems with her serve in the final two rounds. She double-faulted 10 times against Amy Frazier in the semifinals and 14 versus Seles.

But Williams came up with the winners at the crucial moments, and Seles found herself making a few too many unforced errors, particularly on the backhand side. Williams had 55 winners--including seven aces--and 33 unforced errors.

“I’m playing my best when I need to,” Williams said. “I want to start playing my best when I don’t need to.”

Despite an occasional displeasure with her play, Williams has not lost since the French Open quarterfinals, when she went out to Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain in three sets.

In preparation for the U.S. Open, Williams will play the week before in New Haven, Conn.

Seles was asked whether Williams was the leading contender for the Open. The U.S. Open was the first Grand Slam singles title for the Williams sisters when Serena beat Hingis in the final last year.

“Oh definitely, there are still four weeks to go before the Open,” Seles said. “Obviously, Venus hasn’t played Serena yet. A lot of things can happen in a two-week tournament. The way she is playing right now, with her confidence level, she definitely by far is the favorite.”

Williams was asked again whether anyone could beat her. She smiled and said, “No one’s been able to do it, so maybe not.”

She summed up the match succinctly.

“I was strolling and playing well,” Williams said. “No one wants to go out 6-0, 6-0. I lost focus and concentration. The sun was in my way. A lot of things happened in between . . . and at the end it was 6-3.”

Notes

Australian Open champions Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs beat Lindsay Davenport and Anna Kournikova in the doubles final, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

WHAT

estyle.com Classic

WHERE

Manhattan

Tennis Club,

Manhattan Beach

WHEN

Today through Sunday

Story, Page 5