"I don't think we thought about any limits. When you're a kid, you don't think about limits. You dream." Venus Williams on the ambitions she shared with her sister, following her fourth-round loss against Serena on Monday at Wimbledon
LONDON -- Before Venus and Serena Williams were bound for glory, it's a safe bet that the sisters didn't think much about playing against each other in Grand Slam events, as they did once again on a bright and sunny Manic Monday at Wimbledon.
It was the fifth and perhaps most significant time they found themselves in that quandary at the All England Club; kid sister Serena is halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam, and a resurgent Venus had won two of their past three meetings.
There were times in the past when the undertow created by the complex psychological forces at play in this "rivalry" threatened to drown anyone who dipped a toe into it, and that included the sisters themselves.
Those times seem to be over. At last.
"You know, sometimes you have to play people that you don't want to play. That happens," Serena said, sounding surprisingly philosophical following her workmanlike 6-4, 6-3 win. "In the beginning [meaning, the past], I had to really think, 'No, I'm not playing Venus.' But I wasn't thinking like that at all [today]. I'm thinking, 'I'm playing a tough opponent.' It wasn't necessarily playing Venus, it was playing my opponent and the ball."
It would be impertinent to position this as some sort of an epiphany, yet there was something different about this match than the ones that came before it. There was an aura of serenity surrounding both women, as well as the way they went about their business. And, this time, there was nothing muted about either woman's demeanor, either -- no uncomfortable sense that one or the other might be incapable of shedding her inhibitions and whaling away.
The shaping influence of time has something to do with all this. It's been six years since the sisters last met in a Grand Slam event, the 2009 Wimbledon final. A lot more than 23 Grand Slam events have happened to these women since then.
"I just learned that, you know, life ... There's so many things that are more important in life than tournaments and wins," Serena said. "No matter what happens, no matter how tough matches are, how hard we play -- still family and spirituality, that should be No. 1 in your life, and it is."
One of the larger changes over the years has been Serena's transformation into a more worldly and engaging individual, a journey that accelerated as her success increased. Venus, while outspoken on some issues, most notably equal prize money, has remained enigmatic; she has been the reticent older sister who has been eclipsed by a genius sibling. When someone asked Venus on Monday if the way she thought her match-up against Serena has changed over the years, essentially the same question put to Serena, her reply was brief, and telling: "No, not necessarily. No."
You have to feel for Venus. She has juggled her roles as champion of her younger sister and champion of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. They've been tough, not necessarily complementary jobs. It's OK to feel for Serena, too. Does anyone really want to watch her endlessly agonize or wring her hands over a fate that can't be altered?
No wonder Serena said after Monday's match, "I look forward to tomorrow. I feel like my tournament has finally begun. This is where I feel really comfortable in a Grand Slam."
And Serena getting through this particular match might have lifted some additional weight from her shoulders.