Winners Are From Venus

The woman with the otherworldly name served, spun and slammed her way to the top Saturday, turning the staid All England Club into a roof-raising Centre Court celebration.

Her father and coach once noted that he wasn’t sure if his way was the only way, saying: “There are many ways to get to the mountaintop.”

And now, how was the view?

Venus Williams, Wimbledon champion.

“This was meant to be,” said Williams, the first African-American woman to win Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1957 and 1958.

Williams, seeded fifth, needed less than an hour and a half to defeat second-seeded Lindsay Davenport, 6-3, 7-6 (3), completing the long road from her childhood in Compton. Venus and her younger sister Serena are now the first sisters to win Grand Slam singles titles.

Venus danced with delight after Davenport netted a low forehand volley.

“I would go to bed at night and dream, dream of winning a Grand Slam,” she said. “And when I woke up it would be a nightmare. Now I’ve done it and I don’t have to wake up like that anymore.”

Richard Williams, practically speechless after daughter Serena won the U.S. Open last September, was giddy, jumping up and down on the rooftop of a television commentators’ booth, holding a sign: “It’s Venus’ Party and No One Was Invited.”

Party or no party, Venus wasn’t going on top of the TV booth.

“I didn’t want to be picked up,” she said. “If I fall, it’s going to be a problem.”

Said former champion Virginia Wade: “He [Richard] brings a different aspect to the whole thing. I wonder how Chris Evert was doing in the commentary box when he was jumping on it.”

The defending champion, Davenport, who lost for the first time in four Grand Slam finals, congratulated Williams and went to her courtside chair, having hoped for more from herself.

“I didn’t quite see what happened after I shook her hand,” Davenport said. “I went back to my chair. I thought something crazy might happen. I saw what she did when she beat Martina [Hingis]. I thought, ‘Oh God, it’s got to get way worse today.’

“Maybe one day I’ll watch highlights of it.”

The outcome was more memorable than the match itself. Davenport was often caught flat-footed and had her serve broken six times, holding only twice in the second set. Her mobility appeared to be hampered because of an injured back and she had her upper left thigh wrapped.

“This is the first Grand Slam final I’ve lost,” she said. “It’s tough. You don’t ever want to lose once you get to this situation. I thought I was trying so hard to hang in there. It just didn’t work.

“I think I’m always able to look at the big picture. If someone had told me before the tournament started, I would be in the finals, I would have been happy considering how poorly I was playing before it began.”

Davenport nearly lost in the second round and struggled against Monica Seles in the quarterfinals. Venus also got to the final the hard way, defeating top-seeded Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals and Serena in the semifinals.

“I beat No. 1, beat No. 2 and I took out No. 8 [Serena], which was not easy,” said Venus, who will now be ranked No. 3. “I knew she was like the best player in the draw. She was playing the cleanest.”

Said Davenport: “I thought that her big win was against Martina in the quarters, and that was maybe the win that got her over the hump a little bit.”

Venus, who used an effective mix of power and drop-shot guile, did not show any real sign of nerves until she was ahead 6-3, 5-4, losing her serve at 15, double-faulting twice in that game. Davenport held to lead, 6-5. Venus was two points from losing the set but won the final four points to send it to a tiebreaker.

The biggest moment, perhaps, was when Davenport served at 1-2 in the tiebreaker. After a baseline rally, she had the shot lined up but smacked a backhand into the net. That gave Williams a 3-1 lead and she lost only two more points the rest of the tiebreaker. Davenport saved the first match point with a service winner of 100 mph, but lost it on the second with the netted volley.

The Williams reviews were impressive, especially from the former champions. Her victory was especially remarkable considering she sat out nearly six months of competition because of tendinitis in both wrists. Her father advised taking the year off or even retirement, but Williams returned in May, playing only three events before Wimbledon.

Here, her often-shaky forehand looked retooled, and was resolute in the final, as she had 11 winners off that side.

“If she can add variety--as she showed today--she can be unbeatable,” 1998 champion Jana Novotna said.

Said Wade: “I’m surprised it has taken so long and I kept saying Serena is a little better. They go side by side. They should be [ranked] one and two before very long.”

Davenport figured it was a matter of time before Venus broke through to the other side, noting she is only 20 years old.

“You couldn’t help but feel a little bit sorry for her last fall when Serena won the first one,” Davenport said. “It seemed like the press was always getting on her case, ‘When are you going to do it? When are you going to do it?’ I went through that for a certain amount of time. Both Serena and Venus are going to win more Grand Slam titles as their careers go forward.

“She’s obviously going to be a lot tougher to beat now that she has this first one under her belt.”

Venus must have known something was special about Wimbledon 2000. The day before she left for Great Britain, she went to a mall in Florida and bought a Wimbledon ball gown.

“I had one dress I could wear, but it was last year’s and colors have changed since then,” she said.

Of course. And, what color is the dress?

“I’m a lady. I can’t let anyone know what I’m wearing,” she said, smiling.

The Box Score

Box score of No. 5 Venus Williams’ 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over No. 2 Lindsay Davenport:

*--*

Williams Davenport First Serve Pct. 59 70 Aces 3 0 Double Faults 7 5 Unforced Errors 31 34 First Serve Winning Pct. 61 52 Second Serve Winning Pct. 42 25 Winners (Including Service) 26 19 Break Points 6-13 5-7 Net Approaches 11-15 4-28 Total Points 77 64

*--*

Time of Match 1:21