As we venture deeper into the Women's Singles Draw in Paris, and prepare for a possible showdown between the world's top 2 ranked players in the final - although last year's finalists and another previous winner may have something to say about that - I'm sparing some time to commend, not dismiss, the efforts of Venus Williams.
Although the 7 time Grand Slam title winner was convincingly beaten in the second round, some supposed experts seem to regard this exit like any early departure from a tennis tournament by Venus as shocking as those made (rarely) by her sister. Let us rejoice in the fact that Venus is actually playing tennis at the top level at present. Given her awful run of injuries post 2010, compounded by the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome, one could understand Venus choosing to retire from the game in which she has nothing more to prove.
For our benefit, and through her courage, Venus has battled the adversity and achieved significant results - in 2012 she has beaten top 5 players Kvitova and Stosur, and lifted her ranking to top 50. Roland Garros has never been a happy tournament for Venus (her one finals appearance was 10 years ago) so when the number 3 player in the world defeated her in straight sets in the second round, the appropriate response should have been: "Expected loss on clay - but useful warm up for another crack at Wimbledon".
Instead, many observers have bundled this result with some other early losses to signal the repatriation of Venus Williams into the tennis players retirement home. How about we just relax and allow one of the best advertisements for women's tennis in our time, and tennis in general, to play while she is physically able, because based on performances this year, we will continue to enjoy some of the old magic. Don't expect what we received at the height of the Venus era - be pleasantly surprised if and when it arrives.
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