Venus Williams' Quarterfinal Run in Melbourne Shows She's Still a Major Threat

Venus Williams put on a great display at this year's Australian Open in Melbourne by reaching the quarterfinal stage.

And despite not making it into the last four after losing to Madison Keys, she's certainly proven her Grand Slam worth once again. 

Going down against the unseeded 19-year-old on a score of 6-3 4-6 6-4, the 34-year-old American found it difficult to cope with her opponent's serve. And she was unable to match her own best performance Down Under from 2003 when she was runner-up to her sister Serena Williams.

Rob Griffith/Associated Press/Associated Press

Experiencing something of a resurgence in form, she managed to carry the weight of pre-tournament hopes quite well, especially after her Auckland Classic title at the beginning of January.

Finding it difficult to cope with the high-power serve of Keys during the week, Venus couldn't return as well as she would have liked. And she eventually succumbed to defeat.

Perhaps it was the surface. Maybe it was bad luck. Either way, she had already proven herself along the way.

As reported by Christopher Clarey of The New York Times, the seven-time Slam winner was in a pensive mood after her recent defeat, reflecting on why she thought the match didn't go to plan.

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I definitely didn't serve as consistently as I wanted to, and I felt just not as aggressive off the ground as I would have liked. I think in this kind of match you have to be aggressive but I give a lot of credit to her. She was swinging freely and most of them went in for her so it's great for her.

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Williams remains a player with a lot of class.

And this was one of her best major runs in quite some time.

Reflecting on her earlier matches this month shows a player with lots still to give.

And the now-retired Andy Roddick was quick to tweet his praise for her this week:

Winning her first-round match with ease against Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor in straight sets, she then went on to defeat Lauren Davis in a similar fashion. And, at a time when many of the big seeds in the women's draw were dropping like flies, Williams remained in control.

In both contests, she moved around the court with tremendous agility. Whether it was from the baseline or at the net, the age gap had no effect. Hitting hard and putting the match to her challengers with some tremendous forehand shots, she looked fearless, rarely allowing either opponent to get a foothold.

All of this prompted tennis legend Billie Jean King to tweet a huge compliment:

She seemed to be channelling her spirit of old. And when you catch the attention of King and Roddick, you must be doing something right.

In short, she refused to be overpowered by the new wave of younger stars. 

Redeeming herself immensely, she stood up to the challenge and played some super tennis, hitting some great winners and putting her serve to effective use. 

Facing slightly more testing matches against Camila Giorgi and Agnieszka Radwanska, she remained the superior player by knowing when to put her sheer power to great use. In particular, her duel against the Pole was a most thrilling one that really underlined Williams' fantastic lingering ability to batter her way to some deserved points.

Lee Jin-man/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press

Time and again when locked in exhausting rallies, she came up trumps by virtue of sheer force—a weapon that should prove useful in the coming months.

Pushing on and pulling through, she was slowly edging closer to a slam that has evaded her for so long.

But despite getting eliminated this week, she still looks like a future champion at some point this year.

After all, everyone knows she plays better on grass.

While Rafael Nadal is the "King of the Clay," Venus might just be the "Queen of the Grass."

And a re-match against Keys would be more competitive at SW19. 

Having conquered Wimbledon five times already, she will again be among the favourites once the English summer rolls into view. Tied with her sister in that regard, we could well see them clash if the draw works out nicely.

All the signs point to a renaissance.

As reported by Chris Chase of USA Today Sports, her recent results have been quite astonishing.

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She defeated the hottest player at the Australian Open (Radwanska had won a 6-0 set in each of three matches) and looked 10 years younger than her 34 years. That 'advanced' age makes Venus the oldest Melbourne quarterfinalist since Billie Jean King in 1982. She also qualified for her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2010. And it's not like she's been on the verge of doing so over the past few years either.

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At the end of the day, it's either a short-term purple patch or it's the start of something special for her in the next few months.

And while it's difficult to predict, her fans will hope it's the latter.

Undoubtedly, her performances at the French Open should tell us a great deal more, but we're unlikely to know the full story until we see her in action on her favourite surface.

Because as good as her recent form has been, you get the feeling she still has a heck of a lot more to give for a good few years to come.

She might just break her duck this summer. Wouldn't that be sweet redemption?