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Venus Williams flying the family flag at French Open
At this year's French Open, it's up to Venus Williams to make the family proud.
At this year's French Open, it's up to Venus Williams to make the family proud.
Serena is sitting this one out because of a lingering ankle sprain, leaving Venus to carry the Williams' flag. With both sisters dabbling in fashion design, such a flag would be made "only of fabrics from couture," Williams joked after advancing Wednesday to the third round.
Serena's absence means Venus is without some of her stiffest competition and doesn't have to worry about being upstaged by her younger sister.
Three years ago, an all-Williams final at Roland Garros ended with Serena taking home the trophy. The No.2-ranked Serena is still "the toughest player on the tour a lot of the times," Venus said after winning her second-round match against Fabiola Zuluaga 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
The past year has been a disappointing one for Venus. But she won her first title in 12 1/2 months two days before the start of the French Open, the Istanbul Cup.
The four-time Grand Slam winner hasn't won a major since 2001, when she won Wimbledon and the US Open, the last of her seven Grand Slam trophies.
Venus has never won at Roland Garros, and this year she's trying to play on its red clay a little differently. She's trying to break her habit of remaining on the baseline, even though the surface typically is difficult for net rushers.
While Williams won barely half the rallies when she stayed back against Zuluaga, she won 15 of 19 points at the net. "Sometimes I'm tired of hanging out on the baseline," the 1.85-meter (6-foot-1) Williams said. "I feel like it's about time to break camp. When I'm playing my best I'm always moving forward, but that's pretty much anyone. Great players are always making something happen."
Williams had 45 unforced errors, including nine double faults, and lost serve seven times. But she won eight of the final nine points and improved to 6-0 against Zuluaga.
"It was a challenging match," Williams said. "I think the best part was she's a player with variety. Sometimes she's hitting harder, and sometimes with more spin. I got to see everything I'll see throughout the rest of the tournament."
Williams' opponent Friday will be 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva of Bulgaria.
