KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Venus Williams was in trouble -- again -- on Monday at the Miami Open. She was out of gas, perhaps, or out of ideas or maybe just out of legs. She is, after all, 37 years old, and just 24 hours earlier, she had been forced to survive three match points in the course of a grueling, three-hour, three-set win.
On Monday, Williams was a set down to the defending champion, Johanna Konta.
Yet once again, Williams outfoxed time. When she forced a final, fatal backhand error by Konta to win the fourth-round clash 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, she slowly made a fist. The Miami Open crowd, ever the 12th man for either Williams sister, roared approval as Williams advanced to the net, allowing a sneaky smile of profound satisfaction to replace her game face.
If you're looking for answers to how Williams can log wins in back-to-back three-hour, three-set matches at her age, don't expect to get them from her. When a curious reporter asked her just that after the match, Williams coolly replied, "I don't see what 37 has to do with it."
Konta had no good answer to that question, either. She did point out that most of the "good" players on tour are good fighters but admitted, "I think it's inspirational to see for how long Venus has been playing and how much she's still obviously hungry to be out there and to compete."
On the surface, Williams appears to have a complicated life. Having Serena for a sister with whom she had an intense rivalry in their earlier years now looks like the least of her concerns. Venus has to manage Sjogren's Syndrome, an autoimmune system disorder that she contracted late in her career. She has robust outside interests, including clothing design.
But Williams moved back into the elite top 10 about two years ago and appeared in two Grand Slam finals last year, though she hasn't won a title of any kind since a minor one in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in early 2016.
Ironically, those intriguing complications are like a haze around a person who has a strong drive to simplify, streamline and reduce. It's evident in her game. That serve and forehand, one-two punch, is one of the deadliest -- and simplest -- weapons in the game. Williams has made no concessions to age when it comes to her style.
This determination to keep things simple is also evident in how Williams engages the press and public. She still has a hearty appetite for the love of the crowd, especially here in Miami. But she turns opaque when it comes to revealing her innermost feelings.
When she was asked the other day what her feats (and those of Serena and Roger Federer) say about the sport, she replied, "I don't think it's anything we think about. We just play. It's really just that. ... For me, the tennis matters the most. I don't really have much to say outside of that. If you win, you won. If you lost, you go work harder. What else can I say?"
The questions Williams faces these days are probably irritating because the thing people seem to want to talk about most is the one subject she would just as soon ignore as she tries to wring every last drop out of her career. She knows that, as the cliché goes, the one opponent no champion can beat is time. Why be reminded of it all the time?
There's a mystique surrounding players who can extend their careers the way Federer and the Williams sisters have. Their peers acknowledge and admire it, but they're ever vigilant, standing by for the inevitable fall.
"When you go up against someone like Venus or Serena who have achieved so much in the sport, you do have that admiration for them," Konta said. "But I do think you also leave all sorts of feelings on the side of the court. When you go out there to compete against anyone, you're there to win. I don't think I go up against her any different than I do anyone else."
Williams understands that, and maybe that's one reason she doesn't have time for all the "oldest this" and "oldest that" stuff. She has continued to simplify all the moving parts because there's one thing about the game that hasn't changed in two decades, and it requires all her attention.
"You have to realize that the player across the net wants to win, too," Williams said. "So you have to fight for every point."
Simply put.
