Australian Open: Venus grabs piece of history

MELBOURNE: The sun was out and a stiff afternoon breeze swept across the Rod Laver Arena. The crowd was on its feet, applauding. Love was in the air. Venus Williams -not one to show much emotion on court -bought into the moment. A smile that matched the radiance overhead and long arms wrapped around herself. A hug for the hero.
The 36-year-old, a seven-time major-winner and 2003 Australian Open finalist, became the oldest woman to reach the final four here in the Open era.Venus, diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome -an autoimmune disorder -in 2011, which derailed her career and stalled her life, beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to make her first Australian Open semifinal in 14 years.
“I want to go further,“ a beaming Venus, who plays compatriot Coco Vandeweghe, who once chased her for autographs, in the semifinals on Thursday , said. “To me the semifinals is a stepping stone, just like the other rounds. It's an opportunity to advance. The tournament is by no means over.It's down to the business end.“
Venus, who dropped out of the top-100 following the diagnoses, made dietary alterations and even changed the balance of her training, increasing her time in the gym, making steady progress which didn't instantly translate into results. After four years in relative wilderness she made quarterfinals of majors in 2015 and last year stormed into the Wimbledon semifinals.
“For me the mindset now is just complete execution of my game.This is the best thing I can do for myself,“ Venus, playing for time, praying for health, said. “There's not another option for me other than to do that.“
Venus, who struggled with her serve on Tuesday , thanks to the sun, surprised the 25-year-old Russian, who double faulted on match point.
The towering champion, who has her hair swept up in a spongecake like bun when competing, said she was still playing because she had a lot to give tennis still. “I feel like I have a lot of great tennis in me. So any time you feel that way, you continue,“ Venus said.
Venus started the year on the wrong foot, pulling out of her first tournament of the year with a troublesome elbow that also forced her out of the doubles competition here.“I had a lot of anxiety coming into this event. More than anything, you don't want to look silly out there, walk out on the court and just not play well because you aren't prepared for it,“ she said. “So definitely not an ideal road to start the year. No matches, withdrawing with injury .It's stressful. Then to be sitting here, I'm like, All right, it's all good.“