5 different competitions took place in Tennis at the Olympics over a period of 8 days. There were several shocks in what was overall an extremely engrossing and exciting week or so of matches in SW19, Wimbledon.
The Williams Sisters shone once again in the women's game. Serena Williams came into the tournament just off the back of her 5th Wimbledon Final win and she quite frankly smashed all opponents in her way in the Women's Singles.
She managed to embarrass the world number 1, Maria Sharapova, in the Gold medal match allowing the Russian to win just one game. Serena triumphed 6-0 6-1 and took the Gold medal for the United States and became the third woman in tennis history to complete the 'Golden Slam'; which means she has now won all four Grand Slam's as well as the Olympics.
In the Women's Doubles there was more cause for celebration in the Williams camp when Serena won her second Gold medal with her experienced and legendary and just as adept tennis-playing sister Venus. If Serena's win in the Singles can be described as a jog in the park, then her route to glory in the Doubles tournament can certainly be described as a walk. The pair did not once drop a set en route to the final.
These two coveted ladies have returned to the WTA Tour in quite some style this season; when only 2 years ago it appeared they would never dominate women's tennis again. Venus is said to have contracted a serious health problem that left her physically weak, so it is perhaps no surprise that she is no longer the singles player she once was. However, she is still a much feared opponent on the tour and has managed to bring her ranking up to 62nd best in the world.
What her sister Serena has achieved this season is simply phenomenal. Since only July 2011 has she been able to play competitively due to a harrowing foot injury. From that month on, she slowly began to appear in more and more WTA tournaments; but preserved herself for the Grand Slams. This proved to be an inspired decision as she slowly edged her way up the world rankings due to the quality of the amount of ranking points she picked up on those few occasions she entered a tournament.
The overall result of her rehabilitation and preparation became apparent at Wimbledon this year, where she was totally dominant. One can only applaud her for staying mentally strong in the painful recovery she had to put herself through, but she has certainly reaped the rewards.
She is undoubtedly the current best female player by a mile and her triumph in these Olympiad simply confirms this. Her serve is one which would be more recognisable in a Men's match instead of in a Women's one, it is that powerful. Her forehand is ever reliable and she generates more power in her ground strokes than any woman in the history of tennis has.
Having lavished all this praise upon her, I am still not finished. Her excitement and vibrancy in press interviews when talking about future challenges or her achievements in her sport is so refreshing to see, especially from an experienced champ like herself. The impression she creates is that she feels privileged to have won what she has won and that she is honoured to be a top professional tennis player.
Serena is not a stupid girl, she realises that she has a maximum of another 3 years at the top of her game; yet this makes her joyous, rather than downbeat. She wants to enjoy every single minute of the rest of her career and the American wants everyone out there to know that.
To me, that's an inspiring and pretty unique attitude and is part of the reason why she is currently in a league of her own in the women's game.
The Williams Sisters shone once again in the women's game. Serena Williams came into the tournament just off the back of her 5th Wimbledon Final win and she quite frankly smashed all opponents in her way in the Women's Singles.
She managed to embarrass the world number 1, Maria Sharapova, in the Gold medal match allowing the Russian to win just one game. Serena triumphed 6-0 6-1 and took the Gold medal for the United States and became the third woman in tennis history to complete the 'Golden Slam'; which means she has now won all four Grand Slam's as well as the Olympics.
In the Women's Doubles there was more cause for celebration in the Williams camp when Serena won her second Gold medal with her experienced and legendary and just as adept tennis-playing sister Venus. If Serena's win in the Singles can be described as a jog in the park, then her route to glory in the Doubles tournament can certainly be described as a walk. The pair did not once drop a set en route to the final.
These two coveted ladies have returned to the WTA Tour in quite some style this season; when only 2 years ago it appeared they would never dominate women's tennis again. Venus is said to have contracted a serious health problem that left her physically weak, so it is perhaps no surprise that she is no longer the singles player she once was. However, she is still a much feared opponent on the tour and has managed to bring her ranking up to 62nd best in the world.
What her sister Serena has achieved this season is simply phenomenal. Since only July 2011 has she been able to play competitively due to a harrowing foot injury. From that month on, she slowly began to appear in more and more WTA tournaments; but preserved herself for the Grand Slams. This proved to be an inspired decision as she slowly edged her way up the world rankings due to the quality of the amount of ranking points she picked up on those few occasions she entered a tournament.
The overall result of her rehabilitation and preparation became apparent at Wimbledon this year, where she was totally dominant. One can only applaud her for staying mentally strong in the painful recovery she had to put herself through, but she has certainly reaped the rewards.
She is undoubtedly the current best female player by a mile and her triumph in these Olympiad simply confirms this. Her serve is one which would be more recognisable in a Men's match instead of in a Women's one, it is that powerful. Her forehand is ever reliable and she generates more power in her ground strokes than any woman in the history of tennis has.
Having lavished all this praise upon her, I am still not finished. Her excitement and vibrancy in press interviews when talking about future challenges or her achievements in her sport is so refreshing to see, especially from an experienced champ like herself. The impression she creates is that she feels privileged to have won what she has won and that she is honoured to be a top professional tennis player.
Serena is not a stupid girl, she realises that she has a maximum of another 3 years at the top of her game; yet this makes her joyous, rather than downbeat. She wants to enjoy every single minute of the rest of her career and the American wants everyone out there to know that.
To me, that's an inspiring and pretty unique attitude and is part of the reason why she is currently in a league of her own in the women's game.
| The Williams Sisters celebrate their Gold medal win at London 2012 (Courtesy of The Guardian) |
