American tennis ace Venus Williams has claimed that she might not be at the top of her game but she is more strategic and understands the game better, and she has admitted that that is one of the beauties of continuing to play as one gets a lot of the years under their belt.
Venus, who at the age of 34 is one of the oldest players in the draw, is enjoying what some have termed as a career renaissance. There is a lot of difference between the way she played in 2000 and the way she plays now.
However, Venus prefers not to see it that way. She said that she is just doing the best she can, adding that she believes that as long as she is doing her best something good would come out of it, Stuiff.co.nz reported.
On Thursday, Venus advanced to the third round of the Australian Open, beating fellow American Lauren Davis, 6-2, 6-3 and will next face Camila Giorgi of Italy for a spot in the fourth round, an accomplishment she hasn't achieved at a major since Wimbledon 2011.
When Venus played her first Grand Slams back in 1997, or 18 years ago, her latest opponent, the 21-year-old Davis, was just a toddler. She went on to hold the number one ranking, win seven Grand Slam singles titles and was also a runner-up seven times, losing to her younger sister, Serena, on six of those occasions.
As recently as 2010, Venus made it all the way to the US Open semifinals and then health problems stalled her career. Venus is currently ranked 18th and won her 46th career title in Auckland earlier this year.
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Venus claimed that her health problems have given her a new perspective on life. She said that more than anything, she is appreciative of all the opportunities she has had in her life, adding that she is appreciative for good health and just to be able to feel good every day.
Venus claimed that when things are out of ones control, it's easy to be afraid and fear can really hold one back, so she added that one has to just conquer that fear and that is something she has learned as well, just not to be afraid.
Venus claims that she understands the game a lot more, adding that even when she is not playing as well, she thinks that she is able to tactically be more strategic than even, let's say, Venus of 2000. So she believes that there is a big difference.