Venus Williams reflects on past decade, years ahead after Australian Open win

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Venus Williams to turn 30, ready for more tennis

MELBOURNE, Australia — Venus Williams turns 30 this year and would like to note that she is still fast, still strong and has no wrinkles.

As the new decade dawns, Williams reflected on her past 10 years in tennis and listed some of her goals.

“I feel like I have so much left in my strings to accomplish,” Williams said after dispatching Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 Tuesday in the first round of the Australian Open. “I love playing. I want to win each tournament I play. I want to win the majors, play doubles and be in the Olympics.”

In other words, she has no plans to retire anytime soon.

Williams and her younger sister Serena have proven their staying power. In 1999, 17-year-old Serena won the first Grand Slam singles title for the family at the U.S. Open. Venus followed the next year with two trophies — at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. The siblings have a total of 18 — seven for Venus and 11 for Serena.

And that’s just singles. Venus has 10 Grand Slam doubles titles, all won with Serena playing at her side. The sisters are the defending doubles champions at Melbourne.

Serena’s successes have upstaged her sister’s in recent years. But Venus has consistently remained a top player despite occasional injuries. She’s seeded sixth in Melbourne behind top-ranked Serena.

Venus is aiming to improve her record at the Australian Open, where she was a finalist in 2003 but has not advanced beyond the fourth round since. She was upset last year in the second round by Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain.

Venus’ strong serves and full-swinging, relentlessly attacking style were on display Tuesday as she dominated her match in a canary yellow dress. She sent her 22-year-old opponent chasing balls right and left, backward and forward.

“To be honest, when you’re on the court, age doesn’t matter,” she said. “So far, I’m fast and strong. Maintaining that is great.”

She added with a laugh: “And no wrinkles yet, either, so thankfully that’s working out.”

Venus will turn 30 on June 17 and is 15 months older than Serena, who also advanced to the second round Tuesday.

She is not, by a longshot, the oldest woman playing in Melbourne. That honor goes to 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan followed by 35-year-old Jill Craybas of the United States. Both are considerably lower in the rankings.

Their mother Oracene Price — who co-coaches the sisters along with father Richard Williams — made headlines Tuesday by saying she’s getting tired of traveling the world to watch her daughters play tennis.

“That’s why I wear sunglasses,” she said in Australia’s Herald Sun. “I go to sleep.”

Venus thought the comments were “extremely funny.”

“You can see what we live with and how much fun we have with her,” Venus said of their mother, who sat without sunglasses in the stadium during Tuesday’s match. “I hope she does another interview. Then you’ll get to have a little more fun with her.”