A tale of two rivals: Venus, Hingis mirroring each other

Mal Taam/MALTphoto Viriginie Razzano came up short to Venus Williams 6-2, 6-4 and Ukrainian Alano Bondrenko lost to Katarina Srebotnik 6,3-6-1.

Why? She won't really say, but there's no doubt that she's completely following through on the shot and it's also safe to say that during her time off due to a left wrist injury last year, that it was the only stroke she could hit and she benefited by all the hours she spent honing it. Much the same happened with Kim Clijsters and her forehand when she injured her left wrist.

The Williams sisters are frequently criticized for not caring enough and pulling out of too many events. While that criticism has some merit when it comes to Serena (who has pulled out of four events in a row and appears doubtful for LA next week with a thumb injury), it has no justification when it comes to Venus.

Look at her schedule since Roland Garros: Wimbledon, Fed Cup, World TeamTennis and now San Diego. She nutted up and played Fed Cup just a week after winning Wimbledon, a big risk that she was willing to take for her nation and her friend, Zina Garrison.

"It was the anti-vacation," she said. "It was tough mentally and physically. It was the ultimate challenge to play something so competitive after Wimbledon. It takes a lot out of you."

When asked to recall the super skinny girl with red white and blue beads who wowed New York in 1997, Venus said, "She was really silly and knew nothing about tennis but she had a little bit of heart and that counted in the end."

Venus has made a few life changes as of late. She has a steady boyfriend, golfer Hank Kuehne, and her first dog (the many others were Serena's), a Havanese puppy named Harry that she carries around in a bag.

She called herself a single mom when it comes to the dog, but isn't looking to overly impress Hank when it comes to her knowledge of the game of golf. She doesn't play golf, although she has driven a few balls at her dad's house, and has tagged along at a few of Hank's tournaments. At first, she had no idea what was going on. She describes golf as a "long walk after practice."

"He said, 'Go out there on the first hole by that bunker' and I asked, 'What's a bunker?" she said.

Williams says that like her, Kuehne "seems really good and powerful" and she says she doesn't get too nervous watching him.

"Golf is not as fast as tennis but if there's a close putt you can go, 'Ooohhh.' Tennis you are in the moment and it's like a series. He hasn't had as many close ones like me and I don't want him to live on edge."

She also isn't planning on yelling out, "You da man!" "I don't think he appreciates that and I don't want to distract, so I'll just let Serena do it."

Like Venus, Hingis is 27-years-old, but she hasn't been healthy in five months. After beating Michaella Krajicek in her opener, she said it was the first time that she felt normal since Miami.

After bombing out of Wimbledon early in a tournament she should not have played, she went to Germany to visit doctors and work out, and then went home to Switzerland to visit and practice with her mother, Melanie.

"I feel like I'm where I want to be," she said. "The endurance and cardio will come with more matches."

Hingis remains enigmatic. She told TR that "the fire is back on," because she's feeling healthy, but cautions that another injury could extinguish it.

"If your body doesn't let do things you should be [doing], it gets hard on the mind and motivation because you know what you should be doing and you are not and it doesn't give you a huge chance at success. It can vary. Sometimes I have very fast thoughts. When I feel better I say I can continue for another five years, but then when I am not, I say, 'Do I really have to do this to myself?' If everything is great and I'm playing well and winning, I feel I could go on forever. And, if I'm not, I say why all the hassle and the travel? It's very close. Sometimes in a few weeks I can be a totally different person. You talk to me at Wimbledon and I'm one way, and then now I'm another person who is saying the fire is back."

Both Melanie and Martina's fiancée, Radek Stepanek, are telling her the same things: Get a high percentage of her first serves in, make no errors off the ground and attack the net more. Sounds easy, right?

"I have so many people trying to tell me what to do," she said.

Hingis says she needs matches, but also says that she'd consider playing a Serena-type light schedule next year. She's a type of player who seems to perform better at tournaments where she has prospered in the past.

She won the Acura title in 1997 and 1999 and is hoping, as Venus might say, to be blessed by a cool breeze off the Pacific. The SoCal mojo seems to be seeping into her circle; Stepanek won LA two weeks ago.

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