Might As Well Jump

The scores don't show it, but your eyes,if they're anything like mine, saw it. Venus Williams and Marion Bartoli played one of the most entertaining matches in recent memory at Wimbledon. Never mind that Bartoli never led, or failed to force Williams to dig deep into her reserves or repertoire. The kind of tennis Bartoli played was reward enough.

She has gone where Fabrice Santoro, her stylistic sibling, failed to go - a major final - and left the Centre Court lacking something that her role model, Monica Seles, never captured, either: the Wimbledon title. Who cares, it was not a day not for a changing of the guard but for changing the menu. It was compelling to watch two players who are so good in such different ways.

I held out hope that Bartoli might mount the kind of comeback she crafted against Justine Henin yesterday, all the way until the critical sixth game of the second set. She was already trailing by that point, 4-6,1-4, but she had repeatedly showed signs of steel, while Venus periodically revealed moments of trepidation. Bartoli fell behind, 15-40, while serving that sixth game, but she fired a few of those laser-like groundies (the trademark belongs to Seles)  to work herself back to deuce. But then the superiority of Momma Lightning re-asserted itself.

The most striking element in Bartoli's performance was her ability to handle the occasion. There was no temerity, no sign that her legs had been loaded up with concrete and her arm petrified by the atmosphere of Centre Court, or the quality of her opponent. I'm not a WTA pro, but I sure wouldn't want to walk onto a tennis court anywhere in the world and look across the net at lean, lithe, long-legged Venus Williams in hot pants (as a man, though, the sight has its rewards), especially knowing that she had tucked away this particular trophy on three previous July afternoons. Some of the mannerisms Bartoli adopted suggested that she had no desire to gaze upon and ponder Venus, either.

Bartoli also wore a visor pulled down tight to her brow. And between points, she turned her back to Venus, a gesture saved from seeming rude by the fact that she immediately got busy taking practice swings - as if she might forget how to do one when she turned back around and things really counted again.

Bartoli also trotted out a novel move that made many observers alternately snicker,or scratch their heads, befuddled. Often, before she served, she would hop in the air, in place, getting not quite Michael ordan-grade air. When she landed, she finished with a quick, one/two foot shuffle, executed with her feet parallel. Undoubtedly, it was meant to keep her loose, but it looked like she was rehearsing a step for a forthcoming Paula Abdul music video.

This girl is an original, and it doesn't end there. While Venus was getting her left thigh wrapped, Bartoli encouraged the crowd to do the Wave. When they obliged, she joined in each tim, flinging her arms in the air each time the Wave came around. At the end, before play resumed, she gave the crowd a big hand. Moments later, when some cheap-seats comic shouted the obligatory "Come on, Tim (Henman)", she laughed and waved a hand in the air as if to say, "Not today, folks. Today it's all about me."

Of course, today was about Bartoli but even more about Venus Williams. Bartoli put it perfectly when she said:

In fact, Venus served so well (her best in each set was 124, a full 20 MPH faster than Bartoli's best) that when Bartoli fielded her deliveries, they were postmarked from the House of Pain. She felt the blow in her wrist and thought: Wow. That hurts. By the end of the match, she was massaging and shaking her left wrist from the stingers.

There was one other, critical serve-related issue; the fact that Bartoli doesn't have much of one. This is, regrettably, a huge stumbling block, and one that she's unlikely to overcome. Bartoli's lack of lightning, and Venus's surfeit of it, were but two of the ingredients that kept this lively contrast of styles from achieving critical mass, but offered plenty of food for thought.

You can read the official pressers at the Wimbledon  website; both of them are enlightening, But I'm going to cut to the chase here and transcribe our small-group, post-presser interview with Venus, much like I did with Serena Williams after the Australian Open. This interview took place about half an hour after the official pressers ended, with Venus awaiting us in an elegant black-and-white floral print dress.

Jon Wertheim (Sports Illustrated): Venus, are you past the point where you surprise yourself anymore?

Venus: It's amazing. I feel fantastic, I don't know, almost. . . in a way it's unbelievable, but I know at the same time that I did the right thing at the right time at this tournament, to win. so I was the last one standing. It feels great to win.

Me: There was probably more criticism and speculation about your interest level than even about Serena's in the past year or so, how did you feel about that?

Venus: I don't think anyone gave me a chance to win this tournament this year at all. But I didn't let that bother me. Over the years I played with so much. . . there's been so much speculation, so I've learned to understand how I feel about myself, and let that dictate my game out there. So it wasn't a problem for me, because I worked my way through the draw and it's all good.

Christine Brennan (USA Today): Is there something particluar you love about this place (Wimbledon)?

Venus: Yeah, I love it because when I was younger, my dad (Richard) said: 'Okay pick a tourament you want to to win and you could win it as much as anyone in history.' So I picked Wimbledon, but Serena picked Wimbledon too, because back then she did everything I did and always waited for me to say something, then said the same thing. So our dad said, 'No you have to pick another tournament'.
So Serena ended up having to pick the US Open. But ever since then, Wimbledon became a part of my psyche.

Me: Has your experience always been so positive here? Haven't there been any rough patches, with the people, the club, the tournament itself?

Venus: Yeah, well I've had  couple of losses here, but like when i was playing that first round on Court 2 this year, they (the fans) were so into it, so for me. The crowed here is really fair. They like to see great tennis and they don't necessarily want to see the champion go down.

Doug Robson (USA Today): When you were coming back, you lost some tough matches along the way. You lost to a few players like Rezai, others. Were you ever thinking, this is taking longer than I expected?

Venus: I definitely was disappointed with those losses, I felt I was in control but I couldn't turn it around, but then sometimes I played players who were on fire, and if I made a couple of errors at the wrong time. . .that was it.  So it was a little bit of both to be honest. But ultimately I felt that if I could do it all over again, and it meant I would get this title but lose at Amelia Island, or Istanbul, or wherever I was, I'd take the losses.

DR: How do you put those behind you? A lot of players bring those results with them.

Venus: Yeah, but the past is the past. Let the past be, unless it's good. Then I bring it with me. You can't carry baggage around. Whatever you think in your mind is what you attract. So I alway have positive thoughts in my mind so thats what I put out.

Tom Perrotta (New York Sun): You said two years ago you felt like you were playing championship tennis all the way here. This year, your confidence seemed lower, at least in those first two rounds?

Venus: I think two years ago i was just smoking winners left and right. But this time I really had to adjust my game to the court, and I feel like I had to adjust my game to almost play. . .within myself, to not go for too much, and to actually play more consistent tennis than I normally do. But every year is different, every championship is different. You've got to find your way. I had to really, almost, change my game a little  bit to come out on top.

DR: Did you feel in danger at all in the match today?

Venus: Well, I felt fantastic when I held serve, then when I lost my serve I asked myself, "Why did you do that?" Then I had a couple of games when I made some errors, and I felt like, "Okay, hold serve, just hold serve. She can't break you. . . " So I was just out there, being positive and telling myself that I can't be broken. And that's obviously a huge advantage for me, because my serve is a huge weapon. Like in the first set, I wasn't going to let it go, now way, because it's Wimbledon.

JW: Do you ever think the way you and Serena have these arcs and then come in and play such top-shelf tennis, do you ever think what effect that might have on the rest of the players on the tour?

Venus: No, not really, because I'm so focused on me, and on Serena - our team. i think when we step out on court, no matter what we're ranked, I think the other player feels at a disadvantage, to be honest. They feel like they have to play their best and we can play not our best. Going on the court, that's in my head, so it's probably in theirs, too.

Me: Two things that people always question about you and Serena are your motivation and your fitness. We know all about your motivation, but clearly it took a lot for you to get back to where you are, fitness wise.

Venus: Yeah, i was on the thin side for a while, and i guess I still am. I just don't keep weight on too well, especially when I'm off the tour. When I was off the tour I lost a lot of weight. And I'm just working on putting that weight on, and getting muscle. That's a challenge for me. Everyone has different challenges. Just that - getting stronger and fitter.And like I said, I was starting from zero. I felt like coming from that last injury, I had to work my way up from zero to Wimbledon. My mom would tell me, step by step. You'll get there. But I don't like those steps in-between.

Me: Are we talking about gym and track work, or court work?

Venus: Just eat a lot. everyone around me, just making me eat a lot, even when I'm not hungry, just eating.

Me: so what'd you eat?

Venus: Pasta. . . you wouldn't believe how I've been putting it down this week. Today, though, I'm skipping a meal.  It was just pasta and protein, anything I can put down, anything with a lot of iron in it. Like I was so tired at the French Open and couldn't understand why. So i went and got a blood test and it turned out I'm Anemic. So i put those two together and started working on my diet there - just everything, coming together.

CB: When you hear the name Wimbledon, you think of the names that just pop up -  Billie Jean, Martina, Venus. . . your name should be there, shouldn't it? can you look into the future and say what it means to be there with those others?

Venus: Well I'd like to be viewed as a great person, like as a great sports person. Someone who had a lot of fun, enjoyed what they were doing. Second, I think life is so much bigger than how many championships you won. But first is to be happy, because if you don't have happiness, then there's nothing left, because  you're miserable. .  So that's my first goal in life - to be happy. But then if I can be in the same sentence as those guys. . . amazing, Ill be proud in my rocker at 80.

The thing that struck me through the interview was, in fact, how happy Venus appeared. She giggled frequently, and radiated warmth and contentment. Soon we all filed out of the room, along with Venus. Her beau, pro golfer Hank Keuhne, waited patiently outside. As they met, he slipped his hand around her waist and slid it down her arm until they were holding hands. They walked up the stairs toward the player lounge like that.

You may have read in Bartoli's presser that she would be returning home, to spend time in her garden with her cat (Calinette - which, roughly translated means "cuddler"). But don't worry about her romantic life. She told us that while actor Pierce Brosnan was unable to return to watch her play again today (after being her inspiration yesterday) when she arrived at Wimbledon she found a bouquet of flowers and a sweet note from him waiting at her locker.

Might as well jump, Marion.