At 36, Venus is playing as well—and sounding as wise—as she ever has

“Come on Venus, let’s see the magic!” a fan high up in the stands in Rod Laver Arena cried out.

Venus Williams and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova stood at 3-3 in a second-set tiebreaker. Williams had won the first set of their quarterfinal; now she was four points from becoming, at 36, the oldest women’s semifinalist in Australian Open history. She had last reached that stage in Melbourne in 2003, back when she was 22 and Grand Slam semis came as easily to her as forehand winners.

By now, Venus knows that success in tennis isn’t always about doing something magical, and that Slam semifinals are nobody’s birthright, not even hers. Williams’ match with Pavlyuchenkova had hardly been an instant classic. There were nine breaks of serve, more errors than winners and, from Pavlyuchenkova, three times as many double faults as aces. The rallies had a slam-bang quality, and they often ended in a towering shank. Williams and Pavlyuchenkova live and die with baseline power, so a match between them will probably never win any points for style.

In her youth, Venus was an imperious competitor. She slammed down serves at record-breaking speeds and dominated her opponents with superior power and quickness. She still has her fair share of both. On Tuesday, Venus hit twice as many winners as her much younger opponent, and she tracked down balls that Pavlyuchenkova seemed to think were going for winners. But after an Open-era record 73 Slams, Williams wins with caginess, too. What situation can she find herself in on a tennis court that she hasn’t found herself in 100 times before?

Against Pavlyuchenkova, it was Venus’ willingness to come forward at the right moments that gave her the edge—she was 13 of 16 at the net, while the Russian only made it there six times. In the end, Williams didn’t disappoint her fan in the Laver stands. From 3-3 in the tiebreaker, Venus won the last four points. It may not have been a magical effort—Pavlyuchenkova double-faulted at match point—but it was a winning one.

When it was over, Venus gave herself a hug and lit up Laver with her customary little-kid victory grin. She seems able to savor each win, yet at the same time stay grounded and focused on the bigger goal.

“To me, the semifinals is a stepping stone, just like the other rounds,” Williams said. “It’s an opportunity to advance. The tournament is by no means over.”

Asked to assess the “impact” that she and her sister, Serena, have had on tennis, Venus quickly demurred. She’s happy, more than anything else, just to have more tennis to play this week.

“My mind is on this tournament,” Venus said. “What am I preparing for tomorrow? What am I going to do on Thursday? Just the excitement of having the opportunity to compete at my best level.”

“…Anything that’s happened before is just so, so before. I’m, like, ready for the future.”

And why shouldn’t she be? After six years of failing to reach a Grand Slam semi, Venus has now made two of the last three. Last summer I wrote, jokingly, that Venus will probably be in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, at age 40. I’m not laughing now.

Still, while this seven-time Slam winner is never going to doubt her ability to go deep at any event, she was a little worried coming to Melbourne. Venus was forced to withdraw from the year’s first tournament, in Auckland, with an arm injury. But every time we start to wonder if the end may be coming for Venus, she bounces back stronger and more vital than ever.

“I had a lot of anxiety coming into this event,” Williams said. “More than anything, you don’t want to look silly out there, walk out on the court and just not play well because you aren’t prepared.”

To do a job well, you have to find pleasure in the unglamorous day-to-day work it requires. Venus thrives on preparation, on doing the little things to get ready for the next match, on looking one day ahead and no farther. Years of living like that have made her a fount of tennis wisdom. Asked if she believed she could win the tournament, Venus gave all of us—recreational players and pros alike—another nugget to live by.

“Why shouldn’t I?” she said. “I try to believe. Should I look across the net and believe the person across the net deserves it more?”

No, no you shouldn’t, Venus. Not when you still have so much magic left in you.