Venus Williams: Top five wins of the ace tennis star

Serena's elder sister has had some memorable moments on court.

Venus Williams is regarded as one of the all-time greats of women’s tennis along with her younger sister Serena. The former World No. 1 is credited to bringing in power and athleticism on the tennis court.

She is also the first African American woman to hold the No. 1 spot in the Open Era. Equally successful in singles and doubles Venus Williams holds a staggering 23 Grand Slam titles.

Let's take look at some of her individual achievements. A countdown of some of her biggest victories in singles competition.

5. Venus Williams vs Martina Hingis (2000 US Open semi finals)

In this encounter, Hingis was the top seed while Williams was ranked third. Hingis started on the offensive and claimed the first set.

Venus showed the heart of a champion and bounced back. It took her a total of 9 games to win the second one. The final set was longer but Venus managed to hold off the opposition to lift her second Grand Slam trophy of the year. The final result 6-4,3-6, 5-7. Venus also became the second woman behind Steffi Graf to win the Wimbledon, US Open and Olympics in the same season.

4. Venus Williams vs Lindsay Davenport ( 2000 Wimbledon final)

Before there was Serena there was Venus. The elder Williams sister kick-started her Grand Slam journey with victory over compatriot Lindsay Davenport in the Wimbledon.

Venus had only dropped one set on her route to the finals and made quick work to win her first title. The first set was a 6-3 victory but Davenport did manage to take the second set to a tiebreak. But Venus had the last laugh. As she rushed to the stands to greet her family the tennis world realized a new star was born. The final scoreline 6-3,7-6.

3. Venus Williams vs Elena Dementieva (2000 Olympic finals)

Venus had a special run in the year 2000 when she won the US Open, Wimbledon and a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics. The second seed squared off against Russia’s Elena Dementieva at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre.

The tenth seed Dementieva had no answer to Venus’s attacking tennis. Venus won the game 6-2,6-4 to win her first coveted Olympic medal.

2. Venus Williams vs Justine Henin (2001 Wimbledon final)

In 2001 Venus played her fourth Grand Slam final against tennis’ upcoming prospect Justine Henin.  Henin had surprised everyone making it to her first Grand Slam finals.

Williams had powered to a quick 6-1 first set win but the Belgian teen showed her grit to claim the 2nd set.  The 3rd set however was completely one sided as Venus dictated the court on her terms. Henin could not even win a single point in the third set. The match finally ended with a 6-1,3-6,6-0 victory for Venus.

“This year was a lot more difficult to win. I thought a lot more”, confessed Venus  after her win.

1. Venus Williams vs  Lindsay Davenport ( 2005 Wimbledon final)

One of the most iconic matches in Wimbledon history was played in the finals of the 2005 Wimbledon Championships. The 25-year-old Venus met Davenport in an all Californian final.  

Williams was going through a four-year Grand Slam drought and her opponent hadn’t won a major in five years as well. So both the players fought tooth and nail for the elusive title.

The first set and a half however didn’t give any inkling of what was in store. Davenport looked her dominant best. Davenport was serving for the match leading 6-5 in the second set. It was then that Venus made a comeback of a lifetime.

Venus controlled the long rallies giving Davenport a run for the money. She finally wrapped up the game with a down the line backhand winner after a tremendous 165 minutes. As Venus lifted the trophy to a standing ovation the scoreline read 4-6, 7-6, 9-7.

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