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Serena Williams hoping to put Australian Open behind her

Serena Williams enters the French open this year following a disappointing Australian open which saw her defeated in the fourth round by Ekaterina Makarova. Getting knocked out in the fourth round is not usually the Williams sister way as they are so often used to winning grand slams almost for fun. In truth Serena hasn’t really been on the top of her game for some time.  A strong French open is very important for the thirty year old American as it would really help bring her career back on track. The currently world number five has only one of her thirteen grand slams at the Roland Garros stadium and it represent a tournament that she has always found difficult and it has been over ten years since that single victory in Paris. Lifting the trophy this year would be well and truly be turning back the clock.

The key for Serena’s success will be to win games fast. Overpowering weaker opponents will enable to minimise the mistakes she makes when she gets tired. It is well known that  as  a game drags on the number of unforced errors increases and as she has got older this trend has become accentuated.

She needs to win quickly and stay healthy, which will help her win at a place she has struggled in the past. This will enable her to play her best tennis and avoid fatigue building up throughout a tournament so that she is fresher for the semis and the final. The French Open has never been a strong tournament for her only progressing beyond the quarter finals once. With a run of poor performances she desperately needs to find form before Wimbledon if she wants to play well on a more favourable court type.

FOCUS ON VENUS

Venus Ebony Starr Williams, born in the year 1980 was former rank number 1 while as of the year 2012 she was ranked number 71. On three different separate occasions, Venus Williams was ranked world number one by the Women Tennis Association and the interesting part of it is that she was the first black women to get and receive such an award.

Apart from her younger sister, Serena William, Venus Williams is more active than any other female player, winning 21 grand slam titles tying her on the twelfth position.   Also apart from that her five Wimbledon titles ties her with two other women for the eight place in the all time favorite list.  Another interesting and famous fact worth mentioning about Venus Williams is that she is one of the three females in her era to have won five Wimbledon titles. Right from the 2000 Wimbledon Championship to the 2001 U.S Open, Venus Williams have won she has won four of the six Grand slam titles.

In the year 2012, Venus Williams was scheduled to play in the Australian Open.  However given her ongoing health problem, she had to withdraw from the tournament which was very unfortunate. However she later promised that she would come back and performs in the Women Tennis Association circuit in the month of February. This resulted in her ranking to drop by a big margin and landed herself to the position of number 135. Venus Williams was then given wildcards to perform in the Miami and Charleston Tournaments where she defeated Kimiko and Petra Kvitova. By playing and participating in these tournaments her rank rose to number 87. In professional tennis Venus has even played with her sister 23 times – her sister being famous tennis player – Serena Williams. The record being a 10-13 record favoring Serena.

VENUS SUPPORTS MCPHAIL

Venus Williams has greatly helped Cardiff City midfielder, Stephen McPhail in learning how to recover from Sjogren’s Syndrome, a medical condition that brings in fatigue and joint pain. Williams had battled with the illness and won 43 women’s singles titles.

It has been known that McPhail was left out from Sunday’s Carling Cup Final against Liverpool. McPhail has thanked Venus for her help and support. The duo had a common discussion about the illness and William’s personal struggle against it. Venus is said to have huge interest in the game and is a follower of Cardiff City.

Venus’s advice seems to have made McPhail confident about his return. Currently she is persistent on her advice to McPhail. She is doing everything to make McPhail battle his way back to the Cardiff squad. Venus started talking about her syndrome since last September. Soon after her advice, McPhail had reportedly come down to Los Angeles for having an expert’s comment about his condition.

Venus is a lone warrior as the illness has been unknown in athletes. Venus had been very helpful to McPhail. Venus is currently in the middle of a treatment. She will soon be hitting the tennis circuit. Being a 5 times Wimbledon champion, Venus has been very kind to the soccer star.

Venus will be playing at the 40th Family Circle Cup championships that will be held from 31st March to 8th April. She will be joined by her sister Serena Williams. Venus decided to play in the tournament only recently. We wish her speedy recovery and pray that champions of her stature be as simple as her.