COULD I EVER HAVE BATTLED TO BE THE BEST WITH MY YOUNGER BROTHER AND STILL LOVE HIM?

Tosin Oluwalowo
Sep 1, 2018 Β· 4 min read

A lot of people, most especially my WhatsApp friends would I am sure have continued to wonder about my incurable love for Venus Williams.

Yes, it's an obsession! I'm so in love with Venus, and I don't know what I could do if I ever get to meet her.

Yet again, I watched Serena, her younger sister defeat her at the third round of the US Open yesterday, and I was indeed very emotional. Most likely the most emotional I have been of all their games.

I kept wondering "how does one always desires that another person is the best at his/her detriment?"

A little history. A man in Compton, California, Richard Williams single-handedly trained his 2 daughters to play tennis, prophesying they will go on to become the best in the game.

The big sister she is, Venus blazed the trail in all areas, making her grand slam debut at the 1997 French Open. She went as far as the final at that year's US Open, becoming the first womam since 1978 to reach the final in her first attempt, and the first unseeded finalist since 1958, before losing to Martina Hingis.

She thus set the mark for her sister to follow.

Because only one spot was reserved for the best, the sisters eventually had to play each other.

First event was the 2nd round of the 1998 Australian Open where Venus won. She also defeated Serena at the quarterfinal of the Italian Open same year.

Same year, she won her first ever tournament, defeating Joannette Kruger in the final of the IGA Tennis Classic, after seeing off powerhouse, Lindsay Davenport in the semis. At the end of that year, she had become the world number 5, at just the age of 18.

Serena eventually defeated big sister, Venus for the first time at the grand slam cup in 1999, after earlier winning the US Open that year herself.

Venus also won her first grand slam the next year at Wimbledon, after seeing off younger sister Serena in the semis and Lindsay Davenport in the final. She also won the US Open same year.

2001, she retained her Wimbledon title, before facing her sister Serena at the US Open final, the very first time in a grand slam final.

Although Venus eventually won to secure her 4th grand slam title, becoming the sixth woman in history to win the singles titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open in consecutive yearthe events of that final changed the narrative of everything forever!

"I always want Serena to win, it's kind of strange, because I'm the big sister, I take care of Serena, I make sure she has everything even if I don't anything," she told the teeming crowd during her trophy presentation.

Venus eventually rose to become the world number one February 25, 2002, becoming the first African-American woman to do so.

Just like Venus envisaged at the 2001 US Open final, Serena started defeating her, starting with the Miami Open semifinal.

She then went ahead to lose 4 consecutive glad slam finals (2001 French and Wimbledon Open and 2002 Australian and US Open) to Serena. By then, her younger sister had also replaced her as number 1 in the world.

In total, they met in 15 grand slam finals, with Serena topping her big sister in 10 of them, the last being the first 2017 Australian Open while being pregnant.

That Serena is the best female tennis player in history is only as a result of the influence Venus has on her.

While winning, Venus though happy always wanted the best for her younger sister. While losing, Venus never felt any animosity towards her sister for taking the shine off her, but always encouraged her to do more.

This Serena rightly acknowledged after winning their match yesterday.

"It is not easy. Venus is my best friend and she means the world to me. She is so supportive of my career. Every time she loses I feel like I do.

"It is not easy but it is a tournament and we know there is more to life than us playing each other and playing tennis.

"I love her with all my heart and she is the reason I am here and still out here. I owe everything to her," Serena said.

For me, I'm daily encouraged by a woman who while climbing took her sister along with her, even ready to compete with her, and still never left her lonely.

That 36 year old Serena is still at her best in the game of tennis is because 38 year old Venus never stops giving her best!

I love Venus Williams, and she knows it! (Argue with your keyboard πŸ˜›πŸ˜›πŸ˜›)

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