Venus Williams was one of the biggest favorites to win the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, but she suffered a shock loss to the then-World No. 82. The American candidly reflected on her performance after her unexpected exit.
Williams was a dominant force at the grasscourt Major, having taken home the Venus Rosewater Dish in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008. She also reached the final in 2009 before suffering a 7-6(3), 6-2 loss to her sister Serena Williams. Given her history of achieving success at SW19, the five-time champion was hoping to get back to winning ways the following year.
Venus Williams entered the 2010 Wimbledon Championships as the second seed and reached the last eight without dropping a set. Although the American entered her quarterfinal clash against Tsvetana Pironkova as the clear favorite, the Bulagarian pulled off a shock 6-2, 6-3 upset.
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Williams was very disappointed to be outplayed by Pironkova, especially since she felt she had beaten far more formidable opponents in the earlier rounds of the grasscourt Major.
"Yeah, uhm, you know, it's very disappointing. I felt like I played some players along the way who played really well. You know, I think she played really well, too, but maybe not as tough as like my fourth round or my third round or even my second round," Williams said in her post-match press conference.
Having recorded 29 unforced errors to just five winners, the five-time Wimbledon champion also expressed dismay about losing when her opponent hadn't even overpowered her. Nevertheless, Williams acknowledged that she could do nothing but move on from the loss.
"You know, to not be able to bring my best tennis today and to just make that many errors is disappointing in a match where I feel like, you know, I wasn't overpowered, you know, hit off the court or anything; where I just kind of let myself exit. So obviously I'm not pleased with this result, but I have to move on. What else can I do? Unless I have a time machine, which I don't," she added.
Furthermore, Venus Williams said that while Tsvetana Pironkova had played a "solid" match, she felt she had contributed a lot to the Bulgarian's victory with her error-prone display.
"I would have loved to make it an all-Williams final" - Venus Williams on Serena Williams' chances at Wimbledon 2010 after her exit
In the same press conference, Venus Williams lamented the missed opportunity to set up a rematch with her sister and make it another all-Williams final at Wimbledon. Despite her own heartbreaking loss, she expressed hope that Serena Williams' vast experience would help her to defend her title at the grasscourt Major.
"Yeah, I would have loved to have been around, you know, to come close and hopefully make it an all-Williams final this year. But that won't be this year. Obviously she has the experience - more experience than anyone left in the draw. Hopefully that will be, you know, really a lot more than enough for her," Venus Williams said.
When asked if her exit would make things easier for her sister, Venus humorously said that she wanted every player to see her as such a big threat that they'd be relieved by her loss. She also reiterated that she wanted Serena to bring home the trophy.
"Uhm, I mean, hopefully it makes everybody's life easier in the draw maybe (laughter.) But, you know, regardless, I hope that she can win," she said.
Serena Williams delivered on her sister Venus Williams' hopes, claiming a dominant 6-3, 6-2 win over Vera Zvonareva in the final to clinch her fourth Wimbledon title.
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