Tennis
Jerry Bembry, The Undefeated 6y

Venus Williams looked the part, but there was no magic

Tennis

MELBOURNE, Australia -- It took Venus Williams more than an hour to face the media after her 6-3, 7-5 loss to Belinda Bencic in the opening round of the Australian Open, and it was clear as she settled into her chair that the media was on the clock.

Her responses to questions were short.

Her tone -- even with a microphone in front of her -- was barely audible.

And just like that, following a press session she wanted no part of, Williams -- in perhaps her most nimble move of the day -- was gone.

That's what a straight-sets upset loss in the opening round will do to you.

After Williams' loss -- by far the most shocking result of the first round -- everyone was left wondering what happened. Just a year ago, Williams reached the finals of the Australian Open before losing to her little sister, Serena.

Going into Monday, Venus had played into the second weekend in seven straight Grand Slam tournaments. With Serena skipping this year's Australian Open to take care of her 4-month-old daughter, this was a golden opportunity for Venus to make a run at one of the two Grand Slam tournaments that have eluded her (she has also failed to win the French).

But Bencic's win over Williams, the No. 5 player in the world, was hardly a surprise to many. The reason: the difference between being in shape, and being in game shape.

Williams was definitely not in game shape against Bencic.

How could she be? Before losing an Australian Open tuneup tournament last week in Sydney, Williams hadn't played a match since the end of October, when she lost to Caroline Wozniacki in the WTA Finals in Singapore.

That's not out of the ordinary for Williams, who took the same approach going into the Australian Open last year. But last year, Williams didn't face an opening-round opponent as tough as Bencic, who was a top-10 player as recently as two years ago (No. 7 in 2016). And Bencic entered this year's Australian Open with a 10-match winning streak (winning tournaments the past two months in China and Dubai).

So Bencic's unseeded status didn't matter. Neither did her world ranking (No. 78). Even though she lost her first-round match a year ago here against Serena, Bencic's recent success had her confident going into Monday's opener against Venus.

"For the [previous] matches I think I had a little bit too much respect, played a little bit careful and safe," Bencic said.

Her last match against Venus Williams came in the third round of the 2015 US Open. The outcome was a 6-3, 6-4 win for Williams, who claimed she couldn't remember the match.

Williams won't soon forget this first loss to Bencic. Williams, who usually overpowers opponents, had fewer aces (two to Bencic's five) won fewer first serve points (57 percent, to Bencic's 76 percent) and had more unforced errors (26-12).

Williams was broken five times in the match (three times in the second set, including in the decisive game).

"I don't think I played a bad match," Williams said, one eye on the door as she spoke so low nearly every reporter in the room was forced to lean forward in attempts to hear her. "She just played above and beyond. I just have to give her credit."

A match that began under cool conditions (in the 60s at the start of the match) and an open roof was delayed for about a half hour in the eighth game of the first set as light rain fell and Bencic complained of a slippery surface.   

  Both players sat during the 20 minutes it took to close the roof. When the chair umpire announced play would soon resume, there was a huge contrast in how the players prepared. Bencic stood up and began jumping side to side on the baseline in an attempt to get loose. Williams continued to sit and only slowly walked back on the court just before play restarted.

  It became clear who was ready. Williams dropped the next six points -- and the first set -- even as fans in the crowd kept screaming, "C'mon, Venus" in an attempt to get her fired up, but to no avail.

Williams felt her subpar performance was due more to her draw and less to her inactivity.

"You have to get started immediately," she said. "Just not the best luck in terms of, you know, a quick start. The rest of the year to go."

It's true Williams got a bad draw. And clearly, so did No. 10 seed CoCo Vandeweghe and No. 13 seed Sloane Stephens, who both lost Monday (all three played in last year's US Open semifinals).  

Yet watching Williams go one-and-done leaves tennis fans scratching their heads, especially considering where she was a year ago when she, at 36, became the oldest women's Grand Slam finalist in the Open era.

"Last year is last year," Williams said. "This is, like, a new year. You can't live in the previous year. It's impossible."

That's true. What's also true is Williams, even though she reached two Grand Slam finals last year, hasn't won a major tournament since Wimbledon in 2008.

For that, she can blame her sister. But coming away empty-handed with Serena absent in the last four majors is an indicator that Venus is no longer playing at her previous level of dominance.

Even though her length and athleticism makes her dangerous every time she takes the court, we don't know what kind of toll Sjogren's Syndrome -- the autoimmune disorder she was diagnosed with in 2011 -- has taken on her body. During points she looked fluid, but watching Williams walking gingerly around the court between points was difficult to watch.

And even though a clearly stunned Williams said she didn't know what her future schedule would be (she surely wasn't expecting to leave Melbourne so early), none of us know how her outside business interests as a designer has had an impact on her commitment to tennis. Her company, V Starr Interiors, just signed a deal to design the first apartments for a global home-sharing residential complex run by by a partner of Airbnb.

Don't take this as a knock against Williams. She was brilliant during 2017, and nothing she does will change her impact on the sport.

"It's unbelievable," Bencic said of the success of Williams. "I don't think I would be near that when I'm 37."

But Williams lost a match in the first round of the Australian Open against a player who had never won a game against her. A player who admitted that she's no longer intimidated by a player whose presence has loomed large over the game for the past two decades.

The next Australian Open women's champion crowned in two weeks will be the fourth different Grand Slam winner in the past four events. The game has, indeed, changed.  

At the precise moment Williams got up from her chair to take the court before her match against Bencic, the Bruno Mars hit song "24K" blared through the speakers at Rod Laver Arena.

The lyrics that played:

"24 karat magic in the air. Head to toe so player."

Head-to-toe, Venus Williams definitely looked the part.

But there was very little magic.

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