Venus wins her fifth Wimbledon singles title

 

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 7/09/2008

 Growing up as a child in a great city like Chicago during the turbulent 1960s was learning life the hard way 101. My parents raised us in the church; we went every Sunday. I remember some things outside of church that had a profound effect on me and my thinking process.

 You learn the difference between what’s right and wrong, and that was easy in Chicago, because the city was segregated. When Blacks and Whites met on the streets or in school, confrontations always followed. It was the great late Dr. Martin Luther King who said, “We shall overcome.” In my growing years, I’ve made a point of keeping a social scorecard, you might say.

 When Althea Gibson won the United States Open Women’s Tennis Championship and Arthur Ashe won the Men’s Singles Championship at Wimbledon, man, I thought that was so cool. It had never happed before.

 Hopefully we agree that golf and tennis are elitist sports; to learn them the right way, you had to be a member of a country club with private lessons and access. Back in those days in the ’60s, Blacks could not get near a country club, much less be a member.

 That’s why watching Tiger Woods and Venus and Serena Williams dominate has been so rewarding and fulfilling to me as a journalist. We were made to believe that we were not good enough. But the parents of Tiger and the Williams sisters, two hard-working fathers both from California, took the time and taught their children that dreams can come true with hard work.

 Three weeks ago, Tiger Woods, on a broken leg, achieved the greatest victory I’ve ever seen. I was in San Diego for the first 36 holes, and I saw this with my own eyes, Tiger walking six miles up and down those hills and slopes in pain to win the United States Open in a playoff over Rocco Mediate after 91 holes.

 If you saw a movie that claimed this happened, it would be listed as fictional. Woods has won 14 Major Championships.

 Venus Williams, the oldest of the great Williams sisters, defended her title and beat her sister Serena for her fifth Wimbledon singles title. Much has been made of Serena being a sore loser, which I feel is unfair. When you lose a Major Championship, even to your sister, it is still losing a Major, which you work hard for.

 Losing to your sister is still losing, and of course you’re disappointed. As Herm Edwards said, “You play to win the game.”

 Two sisters battling each other for the greatest prize in professional tennis? Pinch me, please — it can’t be true. It’s happened before, but it is rare. It was the seventh time we have had an all-Williams Grand Slam singles final, two sisters at the highest level of professional tennis.

 In history, only one other pair of sisters has faced each other in a major tournament title match. That was well over a century ago, in 1884.

Venus has now won seven Major Tennis Championships; Serena has won eight. Combined, they have won 15 Majors. That’s one more than Tiger, and if you’ve won more of anything than Tiger, that’s saying something.

 Add it up: That’s 29 Majors in golf and tennis for Woods and the Williams sisters since 1999.

 Venus is only the third woman in the open era and tenth overall to win at least five Wimbledon singles titles. Venus has won three of the last four Wimbledon titles. The two sisters teamed up later to capture the Wimbledon doubles title.

 Not a bad weekend for the Williams sisters — combined, they won more than $2.6 million. Both sisters have now won Wimbledon at least twice, and both have won it back to back.

 This is a remarkable time in sports history. Tiger and Serena have both won career Grand Slams, winning each Major championship in their respective sports and holding all the titles at the same time in both golf and tennis.

 Thanks to Venus, Serena and Tiger, we have overcome.

 Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:25 am, and biweekly he commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). He welcomes reader responses to lfitzgerald@spokesman-recorder.com, or visit www.Larry-Fitzgerald.com.