Wimbledon 2005 News
By Eleanor Preston | July 02, 2005

Venus Williams didn’t look like she was ever going to stop bouncing up and down, crying or smiling after winning the longest ever women’s Wimbledon final with an epic 4-6, 7-6, 9-7 victory over fellow American Lindsay Davenport.

It took two hours and 45 minutes for Williams to win her fifth grand slam title and her third Wimbledon trophy, surpassing the previous record of two hours and 28 minutes set by Margaret Court and Billie Jean King in 1970. To add to the tension, Williams even had to save a match-point at 30-40, 4-5 in the third set.

“You never know what life is going to give you,” said a tearful Williams afterwards. “Each and every day I just expect the sun to come up, that’s all.”

Not all of the tennis was great, not all of it lived up to the hype that inevitably comes when two such experience campaigners meet in a huge match, but it was certainly long and it was, indisputably, a match which tingled with drama.

At a set and a break up, Davenport looked like robbing the Centre Court crowd of the stupendous battle they eventually got. Having been by far the better player in the first set and long stretches of the second, Davenport was 4-2 up in the second set only to be denied by a combination of a sudden, painful back problem and Williams’ obstinate defense.

When Williams broke back to take the second set into a tiebreaker Davenport took an injury time out to ease her painful back spasms and seemed to move far better as the contest moved towards an enthralling denouement. She had numerous near-misses on Williams serve, getting to 15-30 more times than she will care to remember and then there was that match-point, which Williams saved with a backhand winner.

"It's hard to put into words," said Davenport. "Obviously I'm extremely disappointed but feel like I gave it everything I had out there and when the chips were down for Venus, she just played unbelievable. I felt like I had a lot of chances and I felt like she never allowed me to take advantage of those chances. She just played great when she was down."

Davenport’s obvious disappointment after missing out on what would have been her first grand slam title in more than five years was in sharp contrast to Williams’ bounding joy but the 29-year-old had the grace to embrace the champion warmly at the net. She seldom shows much emotion on court but those who were watching her closely would have seen a quiet trembling of the lower lip as she sat and contemplated defeat.

For every deflated runner-up there is an ecstatic champion though and it was hard not to be thrilled for Williams after years of seeing her career eclipsed first by her sister Serena and then by a host of other players. Wimbledon 2005 marked her first grand slam title since the 2001 US Open and, given that she hadn’t got past a quarter-final of a major tournament since Wimbledon 2003 even before that she had lost five grand slam finals in a row, it was a remarkable story of rejuvenation.

Andy Roddick will need to do some rejuvenating of his own before Sunday’s final against Roger Federer after he spent two hours and 26 minutes on court on Sunday finishing his rain-interrupted semi-final against Thomas Johansson. Roddick ran out a 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 7-6 winner in the end to make his second consecutive Wimbledon final against Federer.

The match had been halted when rain fell on Friday evening with Johansson serving down 5-6 in the first set and when play resumed it was immediately apparent that neither man was ready to give up a possible place in the Wimbledon final. It was an enthralling battle, one which was worthy of being more than just an aperitif before the women’s final and Johansson played his part in making so.

“Before this match, people had already kind of put me through,” said Roddick.  “I didn't see any logic in that whatsoever.  He's kind of breezed through his draw and played some really good players.  I wasn't surprised at all at how well he played. Was I surprised that we were both able to bring close to our best stuff at the same time, at the same moments a lot of the time?  Yeah, that's coincidental.  I wasn't expecting to get through easily at all.”

The length and gruelling nature of the match might take its toll on Roddick when he takes on Federer, whom he has beaten only once in nine meetings.

Under his coach Dean Goldfine, with whom he has been working since the start of this season, Roddick believes that he is physically fitter than he was when he lost to Federer twelve months ago. “Feel like I'm a better athlete than I was 12 months ago.  I feel like I'm moving better, in better shape,” said Roddick.  “I think that's the main difference.”

Even at 100% Roddick may still struggle to contain Federer, who has won 35 consecutive matches on grass and emerged victorious from his last 20 finals. “There's no questioning that he's been a better player over the last two years, that's a given,” said Roddick. “No one would argue otherwise.  The thing I try to think of is I have to be better tomorrow ?] not for the next 10 years, not for the next whatever.  That's kind of the mindset I take into it.”

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