EXCLUSIVE
BACKS OFF SERVE SPEED TO BEAT CLISTERS

Venus retools to regain edge over Serena

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Fred Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM THE BACK OF THE WEST CLASSIC - Since only those tennis fans in the San Francisco Bay Area were fortunate enough to view Venus Williams' 6-3, 6-3 thrashing of Kim Clijsters to win the $565,000 Bank of the West Classic Sunday, it might be of interest to those who didn't see Venus' attempt to retool her game to take note. Venus is working on her serve and returns in order to regain her No. 1 ranking from her little sister, Serena.

In her three straight losses to Serena, Venus has been undone by her erratic first serve, a patty cake second serve and her lack of confidence returning Serena's serve. Against Clijsters (and for the entire week in Palo Alto) Venus went a long way in correcting those problems, not trying to bomb in 120-mph-plus first serves and depending more on placement with her 100-mph flat serve and 98-mph slice serve; kicking up the pace of her second serve into the 80s on most occasions and taking quick fisted cuts off both wings on her opponent's serve.

Given how accurate and lethal she is from the back court, this refocused Venus was the class of the tournament and appears to be part of the way back to regaining her confidence. She played virtually error free yellow ball against Clijsters and controlled the vast majority of the two's brutal baseline exchanges.

SERVING WAS PROBLEM AGAINST SISTER
"My techniques were weak and it's obviously hurt me a lot, " Venus told tennisreporters.net. "It's hard to change that when it happens. I tried really hard against Serena at Wimbledon. My serve was really great until the final and then I couldn't make it do what I wanted to. With my second serve, sometimes I'll go for it and sometimes I'll put more spin on it, but what I really need to do is be clearer in my mind what I want to do with it when I get out on court. It's hard to change your mind once your already in the match."

Venus' technical problems have led to a loss of confidence against Serena, an unusual position for the two-time Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion.

"If you aren't doing everything right, it gives you much less confidence in all your shots, especially at the Slams," Williams said. "I wasn't able to do as much as I wanted to against Serena as I did against other players. Someone like Serena goes for every shot." After two years of all but dominating her sport during the 2000 and 2001 summer tennis seasons, four-time Grand Slam champion Venus concedes that Serena came into the Roland Garros and Wimbledon with more fire in her belly than she had.

"I was once in the position that she was and and you fight like a wild person," Venus said. "I was still cruising on two great years and she was clawing her way through. She had much more fight. I was a little too tired because it's been long seasons for me. There are a lot of factors that go into winning Grand Slams. I wasn't the best player. It's been a lot of everything for me."

However, Venus – who lost her No. 1 ranking to Serena at Wimbledon and is nearly 1,000 points behind her younger sibling – aims to change the current state of affairs. While she concedes that regaining her confidence against Serena will be a big factor in determining who will win the U.S. Open (should they meet), she said that a more ambitious style of play may be the key to her success.

"I have to start coming into net a little bit more," she said. "I play a lot better when I come in. It makes it a lot easier on me."

Given that she has to defend her titles in San Diego, New Haven and the U.S. Open and that Serena only has to defend her title at the Canadian Open and a final round appearance at the U.S. Open, it is highly unlikely that Venus will regain her No. 1 ranking from Serena until the fall, no matter how well she plays.

But Venus has plans to end the year as the No. 1 ranked player. "I hope it's me," Venus said. "I'm a competitor, too."

CLIJSTERS SHINES … BUT STILL NOT ENOUGH

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

Back to the 19-year-old Clijsters, who wasn't nearly ambitious enough returning Williams' second serve and was unable to serve with enough authority to keep the tall and lethal Williams off her back. Clijsters made huge strides here this week, but if she wants to play with Venus and Serena, she is going to have to step up her serve and return games. Once she's in the point, the fleet-footed Kim is fine, but getting into the points is her main problem.

On Saturday night, after she came back from a set and 2-4 down in the second set and ran over second-seed Lindsay Davenport 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, Clijsters told tr.net that she needed to be opportunistic to beat Venus.

"If she plays her best, it will be tough," said Clijsters. "She's shown by winning Grand Slams that once she gets to the quarters, semis and final, that she gets better and better and raises her level. But every player has a moment when she loses concentration and loosens up and that when you have to fight to get into the match. If Venus doesn't, then she's too good. I definitely have to play at a really high level to be capable of competing against her."

She didn't and may not have that level just yet. Davenport said that Clijsters is one of the few young players with the weapons to compete with the Williams sisters, but she appears to be a year or so away.

Davenport said of Clijsters, "She's very athletic and can be very aggressive. She ran down balls tonight that most girls wouldn't have had a chance at."

However, the good news is that Clijsters – who was knocked out early at both the French Open and Wimbledon and has been bothered by a shoulder injury –said she appears to have reached the level that brought her to the '01 Roland Garros final. Clijsters said she wasn't shaken by her poor performances in Paris and London.

"I knew once was able to start playing and practicing more that I'd be all right," she said. " I'm the type of player who needs rhythm before she goes into a tournament, which is why I came here so early last Thursday. I wasn't worried at all. I'm still young. I've played a lot better here than I have in a long time. I feel great."

As an aside, Clijsters rehired her former junior coach, Marc Dehous, who will begin coaching her the week prior to the U.S. Open. At the Bank of the West, Clijsters was without a coach and practiced with her boyfriend, top-ranked men's tennis player Lleyton Hewitt. She's been without a coach since she parted ways with Carl Maes after the French Open. Clijsters was tutored by Dehous when he worked for the Belgium Tennis Federation.