SPORTS

Venus unlikely to put the recent trophy by her bed

By Sonia Oxley
July 08, 2007 18:28 IST

Venus Williams said her fourth Wimbledon trophy was special because she had overcome so much to win it but that she was unlikely to swap it with her 2005 one which she keeps by her bed.

Williams got off to a wobbly start at this year's championships when she was taken to three sets in her first and third round matches.

The former world number one also had to contend with an unfamiliar seeding of 23 because of a series of injury setbacks.

"This win, it's so much different from the others because the other ones I felt like I was playing in championship form from minute one," she told a news conference after defeating Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-1 on Saturday.

"Here I really had to focus on my game, you know, overcome a lot of challenges, including obviously being seeded low, those kinds of things."

Two years ago she also had a lower-than-usual seeding of 14 and saved a match point against Lindsay Davenport in what was the longest women's final at the All England Club.

"The last time I won, it was a really outrageous way to win. I keep that trophy by my bed. That's the only one I keep close to me. I don't know if it (this year's) can replace that trophy, but it's so wonderful," she said.

Her sister Serena's Australian Open title this year when ranked 81 in the world had inspired Venus to go for it at Wimbledon and she said her latest victory would now encourage Serena to come back with another.

"We motivate each other to get more. When she sees me win here she's just going to go for it," she said.

"When I saw her win in Australia I knew I could do it."

She said her main goal now was to stay fit and start adding to her collection of grand slam titles.

"My sixth slam -- I want some more," she said.

Sonia Oxley
Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Recommended by Rediff.com

NEXT ARTICLE

NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email