Venus Williams: "I Have a New Lease on Tennis"

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Venus Williams: "I Have a New Lease on Tennis"

By Chris Oddo

(August 17, 2012) -- 2012 has been a wild ride for the Venus Williams, but now that she's started to learn how to manage living and playing with Sjogren's Syndrome, the autoimmune disorder that has sapped her of strength and energy in the last few years, the seven-time Grand Slam champion can get back to the business of winning on the singles court.

After taking the Wimbledon and Olympic doubles titles alongside her kid sister Serena, Venus has been on cloud nine--and it has showed in her tennis.

"The Olympics were really invigorating for me because that was the best that I played all season. I didn't win the singles but I really played well," the 32-year-old said in an interview on the ESPN set on Thursday. Venus took out Sara Errani in the first round of the Olympics, and the victory helped Williams put the sting of her first-round loss at Wimbledon to Elena Vesnina behind her.

"I was so excited to come to this tournament [The Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati]," she said. "I've never been so excited in years. It's just been an amaziing experience. I feel like I have a new lease on tennis."

Williams came to Cincinnati as a wildcard, and promptly took out 12th-seeded Maria Kirilenko in a hard-fought three-setter in the first round. Next she battled past Channelle Scheepers of South Africa, and on Thursday she rolled over 7th-seeded Sara Errani of Italy to reach the quarterfinals.

Today she was equal parts resplendent and gritty in reaching her first semifinal of the season with a three-set win over Sam Stosur.

The reasons for Venus's succes?

"I think I just feel a lot better, more than anything," said Williams. "That's a journey everyday. I think I feel a lot better than I did at Wimbledon and the French Open and even in Miami (where she reached the quarterfinals). Obviously you're playing professional sports you have to feel half way decent, so I'm getting there."

As good as things go for Venus for the remainder of 2012, she's already playing with the satisfaction of knowing that she reached her main goal for the season: "My main goal was to make the Olympics, which happened, so I'm on like cloud nine the rest of the year."

Today Venus may have announced herself as a legitimate US Open title contender with her win over Sam Stosur at Cincinnati, but even if she hadn't, Venus Williams is thrilled just to be competing at this level, and anxious to continue improving her ability to live and play with Sjogren's Syndrome.

"In the very beginning there were days when I could only hit for like five minutes," said Williams, when asked about the difficulties of training on a daily basis, after her victory over Stosur today. "It was very discouraging. There are some days that I realize that I'm going to have to play tournament tennis not feeling my best, so I have to train also when I'm not feeling my best. For me it's about proving to myself that I can conquer this. I don't want anything to conquer me, I want everything to be on my terms."

"For me, my main goal this year is learning to manage my health. That's a new process everyday, and I'm learning a lot. Hopefully I'll have it perfected next year. I most likely won't, but you know, you can dream."

(Photo Credit: Getty)