7. Worrying Times For The Williams Sisters
WikipediaWimbledon 2014 highlighted a continual deterioration of the Williams sisters once impenetrable dominance over the women's game. Since 2000, a Williams sister has won Wimbledon on 10 separate occasions, and in short their dominance of the grass courts of SW19 paralleled their dominance over the wider WTA tour. However in recent years age and injury have plagued both sisters, exacerbating a once unimaginable decline. Since 2011 Venus Williams has been battling Sjogren's Syndrome, an auto immune illness that causes lethargy, joint inflammation and chronic muscle pain: despite her dogged determination to play on with this debilitating illness, she has never recovered her top form from her glory days and regularly loses to lesser players early on in tournaments. Her courageous fight against, but eventual defeat to, eventual Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is perhaps the last stand of a once glorious champion. On the other hand Serena Williams has seemingly refused to cower to age and in 2012 and again in 2013 put together two of her most successful seasons in her career. Yet in 2014 the world number 1 has suffered odd defeats in each Grand Slam event. At this years Wimbledon many picked her to power through the field and claim her 6th Wimbledon title, but were left gobsmacked when after leading in her third round match with Alize Cornet 6-1, seemed to self destruct and choke her lead and the match away in a very un-Serena like fashion. Days later fans were left confused and concerned as Serena had to withdraw from a doubles match with her sister Venus as she could not co-ordinate herself to catch a ball, serve or indeed play any ground stroke. After a teary eyed Serena left the Wimbledon complex, the WTA tour later confirmed that Serena was suffering from a viral illness. However for many of the Williams Sister fans and indeed tennis neutrals alike, the Venus and Serena's Wimbledon 2014 performance is perhaps symptomatic of a decline that suggests that the once impregnable 'House Of Williams' is starting to fall apart.