VENUS WILLIAMS ADVANCES IN THE CHAMPIOSHIPS WIMBLEDON 2014

It would seem that the reports of Williams’s demise have been exaggerated. At the age of 33 and suffering from Sjorgen’s Syndrome, she is supposed to be a spent force, past it, consigned to history. 

But you write off Venus at your peril. The former champion has no intention of going anywhere for a very long time to come. She moved impressively into the third round with a 7-6, 6-1 win over the diminutive Kurumi Nara on Wednesday, the world No.41 from Japan, and much as a couple of wins does not constitute a championship-winning run, she clearly has plans to stay in town for a while. She served well enough, she hit 46 winners, she kept the error count down to a respectable 16 and she bossed the show once the first set was done. Back in 2011, Venus revealed that she had been diagnosed with Sjorgen’s Syndrome, an auto-immune disorder that leaves the sufferer with a range of symptoms from a dry mouth to joint pain and chronic fatigue. 
Yet, through diet, careful management of her schedule and grim determination not to be beaten, she has found a way to compete at the top level despite everything. There are still good days and bad days, but Venus will not give in. And as she pushed Nara this way and that on No.3 Court, it was the Japanese who was struggling physically, not Venus. It did appear that Venus was running the legs off her opponent – and that really did not seem fair as they were not very big legs to begin with. Before anyone starts complaining about gratuitous short jokes, it was the lack of height that was causing the problems. This is a serious tennis point. Nara is a tiny but perfectly formed 5ft 1ins short and weighs in at 116lbs. 
Venus is a full foot taller at 6ft 1ins and she weighs in at 160lbs, most of it leg and muscle. In boxing terms, that is like a flyweight taking on a light-middle weight – and even in the more brutal world of pugilism, that would simply not be allowed. Unable to out-hit her predominantly taller foes (she is the shortest player in the world’s top 100), Nara has to rely on craft, skill and pinpoint accuracy if she is to have a chance.