VENUS Williams left
nothing to the imagination during her game at the French Open this
past Sunday!Sporting a lacy black dress, the tennis star flashed her hefty booty as she scored a victory over Patty Schnyde.
Venus told the Associated Press the dress was “about illusion,” a theme that is “a lot of my motif this year.”
Williams said she may or not may wear the dress again, as she has 8-10 other outfits ready and waiting for the Open.
Venus’ younger sister Serena Williams recently revealed how her older sibling put her in the tumble dryer when they were kids.
“One time when I was super young, Venus and I decided that we would like to feel what it’s like to be in the dryer,” Serena told the Miami Herald newspaper earlier this month. “She put me in the dryer, and then our mom came and she was mad at her.
“She got into trouble and I was suffocating. I’m just glad we didn’t go for the washer.”
Tags: venus williams
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PARIS (AP) — Whistles and whispers circulated
through the stands at Court Suzanne Lenglen on
Sunday, a reaction brought about not by Venus Williams' play
at the French Open, but rather
by her outfit.
With a lacy, black overlay giving it the illusion
of being see-through, and bright red trim on the bodice, Williams'
corset-like get-up made her look as if she were ready to perform in a
19th century Parisian cancan chorus line. Her game, a mix of power and
niftier-than-usual footwork on this day, was very 21st century, and
befitting a star of the show.
The red clay of Roland Garros never has been
Williams' best stage — her seven Grand Slam titles all came at Wimbledon or the U.S.
Open. At this year's French Open, she is assured of at least one more
performance, thanks to a 6-3, 6-3 victory against former top-10 player Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the
first round.
BACK ON TRACK: Rafael
Nadal favored again
PHOTO GALLERY: Top
images from Roland Garros
Williams explained that her look was "about
illusion," which, she noted, is "a lot of my motif this year" when it
comes to clothes design. She also said she might not wear that
particular dress again on court. Then again, perhaps she will. She's not
sure. Either way, Williams comes to a tournament with eight to 10
outfits, just in case the victories keep coming.
And she plans a lengthy stay in Paris this time
around, perhaps capped by a title.
"I always — goes without saying — believe I can
win," said Williams, whose biggest hitches Sunday were eight
double-faults.
Williams lost in the third round at each of the
past three French Opens and only once has been beyond the quarterfinals
in 13 previous trips: She lost to younger sister Serena in the 2002
final. Still, Venus' hitting partner, David Witt, said after Sunday's
victory: "If she goes out there and is smart and plays smart tennis, I
think she can win the tournament."
There are others who will have some say in that,
of course, including defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova,
who also won in straight sets Sunday, and the top-ranked Serena, whose
first-round match is Monday. Venus is back at No. 2 in the rankings for
the first time since May 2003, and was not shy about saying she wants to
bump her sister off the top spot.
"It feels good to be moving up the ranks.
Obviously, when you get to 2, of course, the next dream is 1," Venus
said.
As for chasing Serena?
"When we're on the court, and when we're
competing against each other, it's competition," Venus said. "Both of us
feel that, you know: May the better player be the best."
Generally, the better players were, well, better
than their opponents on Day 1 of the year's second Grand Slam
tournament, when the sky was a cloudless blue and the temperature
touched 80 degrees, making ice cream the snack of choice around the
grounds.
Only one seeded man departed. No. 23 Ernests Gulbis of
Latvia, who upset Roger Federer at Rome
this month, stopped because of a right thigh injury while trailing Julien Benneteau
of France 6-4, 6-2, 1-0. Two seeded women left: No. 10 Victoria Azarenka
of Belarus, a quarterfinalist a year ago, lost to Gisela Dulko of
Argentina 6-1, 6-2, and No. 20 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain lost
to Akgul Amanmuradova
of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-4.
Winners included 2009 runner-up Robin Soderling,
who stunned four-time champion Rafael Nadal in the
fourth round last year; No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga,
No. 10 Marin Cilic and No. 11 Mikhail Youzhny.
Soderling won the first nine games and took 49 of 58 points on his serve
en route to eliminating French wild card Laurent Recouderc 6-0, 6-2,
6-3.
Joining Kuznetsova in the women's second round
were No. 15 Aravane Rezai, No. 19 Nadia Petrova, No. 26
Dominika Cibulkova and No. 30 Maria Kirilenko.
Kuznetsova sputtered at the start against 2009 quarterfinalist Sorana Cirstea,
losing the opening six points and falling behind 3-0, before reeling off
nine games in a row.
Venus Williams' only real problems came at the
very end against Schnyder, who fell to 0-11 against the American but
certainly is no slouch, particularly on clay. The 31-year-old lefty from
Switzerland has been a Grand Slam semifinalist, has been ranked No. 7,
and leads active women in career clay-court victories.
She forced Williams to fend off three break
points in the final game, and also made her accumulate four match points
before finally ending things with a forehand winner.
"It's just too tough to really play good, and
then on top of that, to beat her," Schnyder said. "She has a great
answer to my lefty serve, she has the backhand down the line, which
hurts me a lot, and she's a great mover."
That last part hasn't always been the case on
clay, but the 29-year-old Williams had neither of her
sometimes-bothersome knees wrapped Sunday. She covered the court quite
well, both side-to-side and moving forward, which helped her win 12 of
14 points at the net.
It's part of a resurgence on the slow surface
this season for Williams: She is 13-2 on clay.
"Look at her results," Schnyder said. "She's
coming into the tournament playing good clay-court matches, winning
clay-court matches."
And she's dressed for success, you might say.
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