The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Venus eyes another win at German Open

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Wednesday, May 05, 2004

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Venus eyes another win at German Open

BERLIN, MAY 4. Venus Williams is focused again on her tennis, which is bad news for her rivals at the German Open.

The former World No. 1 is healthy and riding an 11-match winning streak as she starts the US$1.3 million event, a major tune-up for the French Open. Seven of the world's top 10, and 16 of the top 20 are entered.

``I'm feeling good,'' Williams said. ``I think it was good for me to be away — I think it extended my career. At this point I prefer to do tennis more than anything else.''

Williams, the No. 1 in 2001, has endured a string of well-documented injuries. The problems hit a peak with the strained abdominal muscle, which forced her to miss the final six months of 2003.

When the American made her comeback this year, she struggled and many wondered if she could recover the game that once made her so feared.

But Venus never thought she had forgotten how to play the game. She also drew comfort from sister Serena and the rest of the family.

``They were always positive — they knew I could do it,'' Williams said. ``I would just play a terrible match and my father Richard would say the most positive things. It really helped me through a difficult time.''

Kim Clijsters, the world No. 2 and top seed, is also entered after a wrist injury sidelined the Belgian for six weeks. Other top players include France's Amelie Mauresmo, the No. 3 in the world, and Jennifer Capriati.

The third-seeded Williams and the rest of the big names will not swing into action until Tuesday or Wednesday.

Williams, finally shaking off a nagging leg injury, bounced back to win her first title in 14 months two weeks ago at Charleston, Southern Carolina. She then won both singles in a Fed Cup tie against Slovenia. Last week, she sailed through the field at Warsaw to win the event at which she suffered the abdominal injury last year.

But keeping alive her streak at the German Open is not the major goal for the older of the two Williams sisters.

``I'll keep an eye on the streak, but I want to just keep doing the right things,'' she said.

That includes calming down on the court. Now that she is pain-free, the rangy American says she gets ahead of herself trying to figure out how to use all her skills again.

``I just get so excited about the possibilities I have in hitting the ball,'' she said. ``I need to calm down.''

Venus knows the two sisters have many possibilities in life. She has been pursuing a design career and her younger sister has moved into acting.

But for now, Venus wants to concentrate on her tennis — as long as the ride at the top lasts.

``In 10-15 years there will be a little drop-off for us. It's high tide right now,'' Williams said. ``One day there will be another tennis player that excites people — you can't be No. 1 forever.''

Several seeds did play on Monday: No. 16 Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi of Israel swept past Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-1; No. 11 Paola Suarez of Argentina beat Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-2, 7-5; and No. 14 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo slipped past fellow Spaniard Conchita Martinez 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

The results:

Singles: first round: Anca Barna bt Nicole Pratt 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4; Jelena Kostanic (Cro) bt Tina Pisnik 7-6(4), 6-3; Julia Schruff bt Meilen Tu 6-1, 6-1; Denisa Chladkova bt Arantxa Parra 6-4, 6-0; Emmanuelle Gagliardi bt Cara Black 6-1, 6-3; Stephanie Cohen-Aloro bt Stefanie Gehrlein 6-3, 7-5; Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi bt Magdalena Maleeva 6-3, 6-1; Paola Suarez bt Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 7-5; Elena Bovina bt Zi Yan 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-2; Maria Sanchez Lorenzo bt Conchita Martinez 6-3, 3-6, 6-4; Marta Marrero bt Maria Elena Camerin 6-2, 6-3. — AP

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