Venus can rise above carnage

Venus Williams is standing tall amidst the ever-growing wreckage of women's tennis in the lead-up to the Australian Open, the first grand slam of 2004 starting in Melbourne next week.

The fact that she is standing at all is a fillip for a sport that has been beset by injury worries to its biggest names. The current list of wounded would befit a list compiled at the end of the season, rather than the start.

Among those not in the Australian Open draw because of injury or a consequent lack of fitness are Venus's sister Serena, Jennifer Capriati, Mary Pierce (all former champions) and Jelena Dokic.

There are also serious doubts over world No2 Kim Clijsters, who has an ankle ligament injury that requires surgery, although she may still try to play with the problem heavily taped.

If Clijsters drops out of tomorrow's draw, three of the top six players will be missing from the Open - a dreadful start to the season for the women's game.

While the men's side of the sport is embroiled in claims of steroid abuse to overcome injury, the women are falling apart with grace.

It has taken six months for Venus to recover from a stomach-muscle injury that hampered her performance during last year's Wimbledon final. Her younger sister Serena has also undergone knee surgery during that time and is still not ready to return to action.

The Williams girls also had to deal with the death of their sister Yetunde Price, who was shot dead in a Los Angeles suburb in September. Price, a single mother of three, was shot shortly after midnight, just a mile from the tennis courts where Serena and Venus learned to play in the Compton area of the city.

Price was hit in the head while in a car with her boyfriend, Rolland Wormley, a parolee who has been convicted of drug and firearms offences.

He is listed in police files as a member of the Mac Mafia Crips, a North Long Beach gang that police say has been feuding with Compton's Southside Crips, who are alleged to have been involved.

"Sometimes life throws you punches and you have to get up, because if you don't get up people will walk on you," Venus said in response to questions about her sister's death.

She employs the same philosophy in tennis and the way the former world No1 is practising on the courts in Melbourne suggests that, despite her lack of match hardness, she can end an awful run of slam final defeats.

"I want both slam titles and the No1 ranking," said a laughing Venus, who has never won the Australian title. "I am a greedy girl!"

A major reason why she can feel confident of winning her first slam title since the 2001 US Open is that Serena, who has beaten Venus in their past five slam final encounters, is missing from the line-up.

All too often last year - before injury struck - it appeared the eldest Williams sister was tiring of all the practising and pressure.

The next two weeks will reveal whether Venus is back on top of the world or just marking time until her younger sister is fit again. Venus's main opposition is likely to come from the world No1 Justine Henin-Hardenne, who won the French and US Open titles last year.

Not everyone is delighted by the return of Venus.

Amelie Mauresmo, the French world No4, is annoyed by the special treatment the American has been given in Melbourne.

The tournament would normally seed the women according to the rankings list but an exception has been made this year with No11 ranked Venus installed as the No3 seed, above Mauresmo and Lindsay Davenport, the only player left in the draw who has previously won the Australian title.

"I feel like I'm being punished because she was injured," said Mauresmo. "It's a strange feeling and one I don't really understand. But it's something I have to deal with."

It is obvious that the Open organisers opted to elevate Venus to try to ensure that the latter stages of the tournament will feature those big names who are still fit and able to turn up.

But Venus is not worried about Mauresmo's complaints and is instead happy to keep her focus fixed on the court.

"It's been too long, too long, but it's great to be back and I am like a Phoenix rising out of the flames," said the 23-year-old, who beat Russia's teenage sensation Maria Sharapova 7-5, 6-3 in a Hong Kong exhibition match last weekend.

"What made me really happy is that I played well. And let me tell you - what I want is an Australian Open title."

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