From Tennis Week: Golovin Grounds Defending Charleston Champ Venus
Venus Williams wore a long-sleeved shirt in concession to the blustery, cool conditions in Charleston today, but in the end the former No. 1 found herself succumbing to severe exposure. Patiently picking apart Williams' weaker forehand wing, 13th-seeded Tatiana Golovin dressed down Williams from the baseline before dismissing the defending champion, 7-5, 6-4, to advance to the Family Circle Cup quarterfinals.
On a cool, windswept day when fans and officials were bundled up in coats, Golovin looked ready for a day at the beach in a black tank top and black short skirt. Her barely-there LaCoste outfits can sometimes be cut so short there barely seems to be enough fabric to serve as dental floss for the crocodile that is the Lacoste logo, but Golovin was hot at the outset winning three of the first four games.
Watching Williams flailing low forehands is like watching a bird with a broken wing flutter in futility as it tries to elevate. Once the world's most dominant player, Williams now takes the court trying to cover her weaker wing by running around her forehand to hit backhands.
Unless Williams is willing to drill forehands until she can comfortably hit the shot in her sleep the time has come for her to consider a more radical remedy to her game and take advantage of her height, expansive reach and speed to move forward in the court and employ a more attacking style of play.
Comments