WIMBLEDON: DAY 4

Doubting Venus: the former great is slipping
Sprem loss shows she needs new coach

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

How bad can it get? Venus gets bounced in the second round.

FROM WIMBLEDON – There are people who doubt Venus Williams' commitment for very shallow reasons, like she's more concerned with interior designing than she is at mapping out her entrance into the International Tennis Hall of fame.

But after her 7-6, 7-6 loss to Croatian crusher Karolina Sprem in the second round of Wimbledon, there are plenty of reasons to doubt the former No. 1's hopes of ever dominating again.

She hasn't won a Grand Slam title in three years now and although she has been riddled with injuries, why would anyone think that she will ever go through an extended stretch healthy again? Plus, she has re-developed serious technical glitches in her game and has lost her once unswerving confidence.

Without question, Sprem is a legitimate up-and comer. She's 19-year-old, a big hitter and sports low, laser-like ground strokes that would challenge Monica Seles in her prime. But Sprem is a very raw and inexperienced player who frequently goes through bouts of erratic play. That's why she's ranked No. 30 and imploded in the first round of Roland Garros last month.

Karolina is no genius when it comes to strategy and usually looks to hit to open sports. When she's on, she can play with anyone. But when she's off and doubting herself, she's prone to hit balls out of the stadium. She has no Plan B.

VENUS NEVER THREATENED
But on Thursday on Centre Court, stood strong while Venus completely imploded. Sprem never needed to change strategies. Toss aside the ridiculous scoring error made by the chair umpire early in the second-set tiebreak. It had no effect on the final outcome. What really mattered was that Venus let go of two set points in the first set and then dropped a 6-3 lead in the second-set tiebreak.

Had she won that tiebreak, Venus would have likely jumped on Sprem and gained the third round. But no, she had no drive in the final five points of the match. She hit a very short approach shot and was passed to 6-4. Then she double faulted to 6-5. The she fell down on a makeable forehand and dumped it into the net to 6-6. Then Venus couldn't handle a Sprem pass at her body and flailed on a forehand volley to 6-7. And of course, she clanked a forehand long to lose the contest at 6-8.

"It's not a whole barrel of laughs," said Venus. "I would have loved to have done better but it's impossible to be a winner or finalist every year. She played really well."

Yes, but Venus didn't. And no one is laughing. It's no joking matter when you won back to back titles at Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001 and lost to Serena in the final the past two years and then were wrong-footed and out-punched by a grass court greenhorn.

Venus can give all the credit she wants to Sprem, but she has to know that her serve is deserting her, her forehand is riddled with holes again and her movement is now suspect.

She isn't taking advantage of the net enough because her transition game is stuck in traffic. She's not ambitious enough on her returns. Moreover, she's playing the big points as nervously as an addicted gambler betting his last dollar on a long-shot horse.

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Will this be the match that catapults Sprem's career?

Venus said she's not in decline. "I think that's pretty harsh," she said.

Maybe, but there are indications that it's true, at least at the majors. She came into her quarterfinal against Anastasia Myskina at Roland Garros with a 19-match winning streak on clay and was dictated to all day long. She came into today's match against Sprem having reached at least the quarterfinals in every one of the past six years here and was bullied like a knees-knocking, gangly kid asked to play dodge ball for the first time at a new school.

WHY CAN'T VENUS FIGHT BACK?
Venus is a terrific fighter, but she's lost her knockout punch. Where are the aces and service winners when she needs them. What happened to her vaunted backhand down the line?

What happened to her win-at-all-costs, gaze from hell?

She almost too gracious now in defeat. Venus seems to have lost her killer instinct at the majors and if she has, she's going to be caviar for the ravenous Eastern European and Russians who aren't afraid of her anymore. Until she can reestablish herself and begin kicking serious butt again, her George Foreman-like fear factor will remain a historical footnote.

"I'm not thinking about what the next person is thinking about," Venus said. "I only care what I think."

What Venus should be thinking about is getting a real coach. Her father and co-coach, Richard, is here, but he's really more of a sideshow now who isn't exactly busting his butt getting scouting reports on other players, or breaking down Venus technical problems on tape. He spends much of his days on site giving meandering interviews and chatting with whomever walks by. Her mother, Oracene, focuses more on her task as a coach when she's around, but she's far too busy these days attempting to get custody of her murdered daughter Yetunde's children to give Venus and Serena games the attention they need.

Because she's fiercely loyal to her parents, it's unlikely that Venus will hire a new coach. But at the very least, when she's busting her behind the next month during the hardcourt season in preparation for a defense of her Olympic gold medal and going for the US Open, she needs to get a little advice from US Olympic coach Zina Garrison as to how she can get the kinks out of her game.

Most importantly, Venus has to remember that she was great but that the game moves on and if she doesn't step up to the new level confidence-wise, she'll be left behind, remembering the glory days that once were. That's no place for a 23-year-old with enormous ability to be.