Venus Williams Ousted in Opening Round of Wimbledon 2012 by Elena Vesnina
Entering Wimbledon unranked for the first time since 1997, Venus Williams lived up to that billing in her first-round match against Elena Vesnina. The five-time champion at the All England Club was ousted in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, on Monday.
Speaking of 1997, NBC Sports put this Wimbledon loss for Williams in perspective.
"Venus Williams suffers her earliest #Wimbledon exit since 1997, losing in straight sets in the first round. nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/47946294
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 25, 2012"
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She was just 17 years old at that time, trying to establish herself on the WTA. We had almost no knowledge of what she would become over the next decade.
But the mighty have indeed fallen.
Williams has had a tumultuous season so far, posting a mediocre 12-6 record in just five events this year. She has not made it past the fourth round of a Grand Slam championship since the US Open in 2010.
It is time to start wondering how much Williams, at 32 years old, has left in the tank. She has battled injuries and various health problems the last two years, so the fact that she is playing again has to be a victory in itself.
But just watching the way Williams played and her body language in this match, she seemed completely lost. She didn't play with any kind of fire, and when she got down, there was no sense of urgency.
You can tell a lot about an athlete by his or her body language. There was a time when Williams was one of the most fiery competitors in all of sports. When she had her back against the wall, she was going to give you everything she had. Even if she wound up losing, you knew she would have left it all out there.
On Monday—and this may be a normal thing for her the last two years—Williams seemed almost at peace with what was happening against Vesnina. It just seems that this is going to be the pattern her career follows.
Williams had a dominant run at the top, but now, she's doing all she can to hang on in the sport of tennis.
