But I didn’t think to bring a lighter with me, and I don’t smoke. So I’ll have to be content with watching Venus again in tonight's marquee match in the Cellular South Cup. It was so, so good to see Venus back on the tennis court. It even made up for the hazardous, twirling journey to the official press box, which sits atop a rickety, ultra-narrow spiral staircase.
There was a definite buzz as Venus prepared to take the court. Nearly all the seats (the capacity of the stadium is 5,200) were filled. Photographers had staked out positions at the entrance to the court. Elvis could have walked or hobbled (he’d be 72 years old now) into the stadium and I don’t think anyone would have cared. They wanted to see Venus.
Volunteers here say that there’s more general buzz about this event in Memphis this year, and it’s all owing to Venus playing here. When she finally appeared, there was thunderous applause. She didn’t wave, there was no smile, just a face that declared, Game on.
Akiko Morigami of Japan followed close behind Venus, seemingly dwarfed (she’s eight inches shorter). Venus wore a white Reebok tennis dress with stripes extending from each hip to form a neat “V”, while Morigami wore a simple black tennis outfit. I think people assumed that because Memphis is a Tier III tournament, Venus would have a cakewalk. That notion was easily dispelled by a quick study of Morigami’s game (for me, it was through contacts dried out by a full day of watching tennis). Morigami plays both ground strokes with two hands, and has endless stores of energy. As an added, intriguing bonus, it turns out that Morigami’s coach is a former hitting partner of Venus’s, Billy Wilkison.
At the start, Venus couldn’t get a first serve into the box. But her strokes were crisp and she hit winners like she’d been away from the competition for four days instead of four months. It took her all of 26 minutes to win the first set, 6-1. But Morigami wasn’t ready for a rout. She capitalized on Venus’s erratic serving (in one game alone, Venus hit five double faults) to take the second set, 6-2. So Morigami entered the third set with a big dose of confidence, and Venus was looking disappointed. We’ve seen that look before, and it did not bode well.
At 3-all in the third set, though, something kicked in. Venus snapped out of her funk and her game face reappeared. She cracked aces and painted lines. Her volleys were crisp and brutal. She put away a number of smashes that sent to ball flying way up into the stands. Morigami seemed so spooked that she hit two lobs that ricocheted off the lights in this indoor stadium. She would later quip: “I was hoping this tournament was outdoors.”
When Venus finally broke Morigami in the third, she pumped her fist and her face was set with determination. And when she closed it out, 6-1,2-6, 6-4, the crowd jumped to its feet in tribute to Miss Vee’s performance. She did her signature pirouette and waved to the crowd. She went to fetch her bag, but the crowd wasn’t ready to let her - or the moment- go. She went back to the center of the court and waved again. She was impelled to make the journey again a few moments later, and she signed three tennis balls and hit them into the stands.
In her presser later, Venus said:
"[I was] definitely a little rusty and the first set went so quick. . . The second set, I started to think and then I started to make a few errors and then I couldn’t stop it and then I made a windfall of errors. In the third set I was thinking all kinds of things and then I said, This is your first match back, you’re actually doing pretty well, Vee."
PS - I met Jimmy Connors’ brother John in the elevator back at the hotel. He’s a nice fellow who resembles his more well-known brother. I found myself thinking, Geez, parting your hair down the middle has to be a Connors genetic trait. Venus is back in action tonight, taking on Caroline Wozniacki, of Denmark. I wonder if the hotel gift shop sells lighters. .
It was a true Bic-worthy moment. And I didn’t have a Bic.
--Lisa McDermott
