Rogers Cup, Montreal

[CR26] Venus Williams (USA) once again proved what she was made of, her grit and determination was on full display as she dug deep to beat [CR7] Angelique Kerber (GER). In their previous encounters, Kerber had gotten the better of Venus the last three times, with the last match going deep into the third.  Well, last night ended on a different note; although it went to a third set again, Venus came out victorious, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

Watching her fight to win, you got the sense of just how much it meant to her.  You can only hope that the toll of that match did not drain her reserves too badly and that she comes out ready for her next opponent, [CR16] Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) of Spain, who is a gritty fighter as well.

Venus has always been an interesting player to watch, yet at times she was also frustrating; the big serve and groundstrokes followed by some inexplicable errors can leave you scratching your head in wonder.  We all know that she was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome in 2011.  It speaks to her determined nature that she continues playing a sport that demands so much of her mentally and physically.

On one hand you are inspired by her determination; however, on the other hand, you wonder …………………life is indeed about choices, with such a difficult medical/physical hurdle to overcome, it is fascinating to speculate how much longer she will choose to continue playing.

Tennis is not only a physical sport; often the mental component is overlooked, even though at times it is more appealing than the speed and power of the game.