Lindsay Davenport had high praise for Venus Williams after their showdown in the 2000 Wimbledon final.
Heading into the new millennium, the 48-year-old was in impressive form after lifting the Venus Rosewater dish in 1999 and winning the final event of the year, the WTA Finals.
Davenport continued that form in the new season and began it by winning the Australian Open.
She once again impressed at Wimbledon, but this time she was up against a determined player who was ready to become a Grand Slam champion for the first time.
What prediction did Lindsay Davenport make about Venus Williams after the 2000 Wimbledon final?
Venus Williams reached her first Grand Slam final at just 17 years of age when she lost to Martina Hingis at the 1997 US Open.
It took the American almost three years to reach another major final, and this one took place at Wimbledon in the first year of the new millennium.
Williams faced the defending champion Lindsay Davenport, and secured a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory. In a contest in which both players struggled to stay consistent, Williams stormed through set one in just 32 minutes.
In set two, which produced eight breaks of serve, Williams served for the championship at 5-4 in set two, but Davenport hit back and the pair could only be separated by a tiebreak, which Williams won.
Williams was dominant throughout this campaign, losing just one set on the way to securing victory at the All-England Club for the first time.
After succeeding at the highest level, at the highest level, Davenport predicted her compatriot had what it took to become the World number one.
“Probably. I mean, it’s hard to say what’s going to happen, especially with injuries and everything,” she told reporters. “But, I mean, she has the game. I can’t see this hurting her career by any means.”
Did Lindsay Davenport’s prediction about Venus Williams come true?
It certainly did. In February 2002, Williams reached the summit on women’s tennis for the first time. In the process, she became the first black woman to become the World number one.
Williams spent 11 weeks as the World number one throughout her career, and she added many more accolades to the list.
She went on to win Wimbledon five times; only four women in the open era have won the prestigious event more times than Williams. She also has two US Open titles to her name.
Williams produced a stellar Olympic Games record. She has four gold medals to her name and is the only woman to have won an Olympic medal at four different Olympics.
The 2008 WTA Finals winner carved out a very impressive career, one Davenport had every faith she would go on to achieve, especially with how she praised Williams’ game.
“I mean, she hits the ball very hard, if not the hardest, on the tour,” Davenport said after their Wimbledon 2000 match. “Obviously there’s a group of people that hit hard – Mary Pierce, Monica, Serena obviously.
“Her ball’s always coming hard, she’s really never mixing it up that much. It’s tough to stand in there. Like I said, on grass, it’s even tougher.
“Yeah, she gets the balls that you don’t think a lot of players would get to. Most of the times, real aggressive players aren’t really that quick.
“You always think the quick players are more defensive players. I mean, it’s tough. You’ve got to really force her to make errors because she’s going to run down balls, but I wasn’t able to do that.”
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