Biting the bullet

Venus felt compelled to play hurt in Saturday's final

Serena praises Venus' heart WIMBLEDON, England (Reuters) -- Wimbledon champion Serena Williams paid tribute to her sister Venus for coming out and contesting Saturday's final despite being injured. "It was very tough and it just shows what a great champion Venus is and she's just really inspiring for me," said Serena after retaining her crown with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win. Venus stepped on court with her left thigh heavily strapped and suffering from an abdominal strain. The 2000 and 2001 champion needed a three-minute time out to receive treatment after dropping her serve in the first game of the deciding set. Despite her obvious discomfort, a limping Venus refused to concede the match and bravely battled on till the end. "I came out because the fans deserved a final and that's why I was out here," said Venus, who stormed through the first set but was unable to sustain her form in the two-hour contest. "I wish it was just one set instead of two out of three," Venus said with a laugh. "It's just confusing out here I just wanted to keep it quick and it extended to two hours. "I want to thank my mum, my sisters and my trainers ... they really helped me through it all and at least kept me calm." After successfully defending a Grand Slam title for the first time in her career, Serena found it difficult to compare her two final victories at the All England Club. "Both are really satisfactory for me. Both have given me an opportunity to hold this trophy up," the world No. 1 said as she glanced at the Rosewater Dish in her hands. "I can't say which is more exciting. Probably the first because it's always more exciting to have that first win."

LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) -- Injured Venus Williams felt pressure to play in Saturday's Wimbledon final against her sister Serena because of allegations made against their family in the past.

"It's just hard these days [because] Serena and I have taken a lot of slack. So I thought I ought take one for the team," said Venus after her 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 defeat.

"It hasn't been easy. Serena and I have been blamed for a lot of things that never even happened so I thought I had to go out and play there today."

In the 2001 Tennis Masters Series event in Indian Wells, Venus pulled out minutes before she was due on court for her eagerly anticipated semifinal showdown with Serena, citing tendinitis in her right knee.

Serena was jeered during the final, and the sisters have not participated at the tournament since.

The incident sparked suspicion that Richard Williams did not like his daughters to play each other and was even determining the outcome of their head-to-head meetings beforehand.

Since then the siblings have only met each other at Grand Slam events, although Serena's five straight wins against her sister in finals have pretty much quieted the match-fixing theories.

On Saturday, Venus' discomfort was evident to everyone on Centre Court.

She came out with her left thigh heavily strapped and still suffering from an abdominal strain that has bothered her for the past two months.

Just as in her semifinal against Belgium's Kim Clijsters, the 2000 and 2001 champion had to take a timeout to receive treatment.

Despite being hampered in her movement, Venus romped through the first set before Serena came back to level the match.

But after dropping her serve in the first game of the deciding set, Venus decided she needed some medical care.

Limping and massaging her thigh throughout the deciding set, Venus was able to last the distance even though she failed to wrest the trophy away from her sister.

"If it wasn't the Wimbledon final, the chances of me playing probably would have gone down," said Venus, who lost her fifth consecutive Grand Slam final to her sister.

"Today was a good effort and I had to play.

"It's tough enough to go into the Wimbledon final but it's a little tougher as I wasn't sure how far how I could go."

Venus first suffered the injury in the final of the Warsaw Cup and has since failed to shake off the problem.

"The injury first occurred in Warsaw, but it was hard to pinpoint and no one knew where it was and why," she said. "On and off, I've had good days and bad.

"It was the one thing I dreaded happening the most at this tournament but knew it could happen because I wasn't 100 percent. But this is life."

 

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