NEW YORK—How, at 36, is Venus Williams playing some of the best tennis of her life? Because she’s still able to cover the court, and hit to all parts of it, like players 15 years her junior. The difference is that, while those young’uns do so by physically traversing the hard, unforgiving surface, Williams lets her racquet do the heavy lifting. That’s not to say that Williams is weakened in this late stage of her career, Sjogren's syndrome notwithstanding, but she may be playing smarter than ever before.
Laura Siegemund, the 28-year-old 26th seed at the U.S. Open, surely knew the challenge Williams presented even though the two had never before played. On Saturday night, she got firsthand confirmation. Siegemund was under siege all night, making scant inroads on Williams’ serve (the American won 73 percent of her first serves) or during rallies. She even traveled 266 more feet than Williams; “distance covered” is actually a recorded stat.