Venus Williams’ return to Indian Wells is joyous, but brief

The applause began when Venus Williams stepped onto the court in Indian Wells after a 15-year absence and it quickly swelled to a standing ovation. Wearing a blue-and-white dress and a smile as wide as the gulf that had grown between her and tournament organizers after she and her sister, Serena, were jeered after Venus withdrew from their 2001 semifinal match, Venus Williams on Friday made her peace with the BNP Paribas Open.

“It was so positive and such a great experience,” said Williams, who said she was teary-eyed during the coin toss. “It just shows that you can always come back home, I guess. You can always go home.”

Rain, wind, and the doggedness of her opponent, Kurumi Nara of Japan, made her homecoming imperfect. Nara broke her serve after a rain delay six games into the first set and was never deterred, recording a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the No. 10 seed.

Although Williams lost, she came out ahead by following the example Serena set last year and returning to the scene of one of her unhappiest moments. “Not everything can end fairy tale,” said Venus, 35. “It’s already enough of a fairy tale to be here.”

She said she hadn’t boycotted this event and wasn’t angry for those 15 years, just reluctant to return to a place she didn’t feel comfortable. She watched it on TV “and thought it was a great tournament. It just didn’t seem like a tournament for me,” she said.

That changed Friday. Chants of “Let’s Go, Venus” broke out from time to time, as did shouts of “We love you, Venus.” But Williams, wearing a wrap on her left thigh and unable to develop a strong rhythm, couldn’t adapt to the vexing conditions. “It was very hard for me to serve in the wind. Unfortunately, I didn’t handle it as well as she did,” Williams said.

But this was not a loss for her, in the bigger picture. “It was still a great day,” she said. “It’s such a blessing.”

Top-seeded Serena Williams defeated qualifier Laura Siegemund of Germany, 6-2, 6-1, in the last action Friday at Stadium 1, ending the 63-minute mismatch with the last of her four aces. “I think my intensity was the key,” she said. She also echoed her sister’s joy about ending their absence from this tournament. “This is good for me and I’m happy to be able to return,” she said.

Etc.

Unseeded CoCo Vandeweghe of Rancho Santa Fe upset No. 16 Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4, 6-3, in a second-round match. Unseeded Nicole Gibbs upset No. 23 Madison Keys, 6-3, 6-3. . . . Third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland came back from a 2-5 deficit in the third set against unseeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia and won, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. . . . No. 5 seed and defending champion Simona Halep of Romania routed American Vania King, 6-1, 6-1.

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