Andy Roddick and Venus Williams take different paths to the end

Andy Roddick and Venus Williams‘ career will be defined by their record at Wimbledon. That’s not surprising for Venus when you consider that the American has won 5 singles titles at the All England Club besides a bunch of doubles titles. On the other hand, Roddick’s lone Grand Slam singles title came at the US Open – not at Wimbledon where he was the losing finalist on three occasions.

In recent years, both have struggled with health issues – fighting to be the players they know they are capable of being but unsure if their bodies would let them. And while Roddick has called time on his career after the US Open, Venus continues to battle on, refusing to be defeated by an unfamiliar opponent.

When Roddick popped his serve and whipped his forehand on the way to the 2003 US Open title, it was expected to be the first of many Grand Slam titles for the American. At its peak, his serve was the best in the business. – it still counts among the best ten years later. But that serve was only good enough to get him as far as the Wimbledon final. Since becoming world no. 1, Roddick became a more complete player – making his two handed backhand more solid and adding a backhand slice to his arsenal, But somewhere along the way, Roddick also lost some of his aggression. Far too often, the American played a defensive game against the big guns like Federer and Nadal – winning only 6 out of 34 matches against the duo. Roddick has been a model of consistency over his career – finishing in the top 10 for 9 straight years and winning atleast one title for 12 straight years. But he ended up short at the stage where it really matters – the Grand Slams. On Thursday, the American turned 30 years old and announced that he would retire from the game after the ongoing US Open. There would be no fairytale Wimbledon win like that of Goran Ivanisevic or Jana Novotna – there would be no farewell tour either like other top players have had. Instead, Roddick announced he was leaving the game because he was not sure if he could be totally committed to the sport for one more year. Roddick is still alive in the US Open and on Friday, he beat the Australian teenager Bernard Tomic in straight sets to reach the third round where he will meet Italy’s Fabio Fognini. That’s a winnable match for the American if he does not get caught up in the emotion of it all and then a fourth round with Juan Martin del Potro looms ahead. Irrespective of how far he goes in the event, Roddick said he will not change his mind about retiring because he knows in his heart that the time to say goodbye has come.

Unlike Roddick, Venus Williams is not alive in the singles draw in New York, but the American has no plans of retiring just yet. On Thursday night, in one of the more compelling matches of the tournament yet, Venus was beaten by world no. 6 Angelique Kerber in three sets 2-6, 7-5, 5-7. Like so many times in the recent past, Venus was undone by her unforced errors and her unreliable second serve. Yet even in that defeat, Venus showed some hope that she is coming to grips with her autoimmune disease Sjorgen’s Sydrome.

While her serve was unable to win her too many points, Venus showed she is ready to play attacking tennis by coming to the net on 48 occasions and winning 31 of them. In the past, Venus has often been played stubbornly at the baseline refusing to take advantage of her long reach and superb net skills to win her points. Now with an autoimmune disease that leaves her vulnerable to fatigue, Venus knows her best chance to win matches and extend her career is by keeping the points short and attacking the net.

Even with a limited schedule, Venus is back in the top 50 in the world. She still speaks of getting back to the top 10 and competing for the major titles. That belief in herself speaks volumes and will stand her in good stead as she hopes for more Grand Slam glory. Even now, the Williamses remain the toughest act in womens doubles – having won the Wimbledon and Olympic doubles titles in recent weeks. They now have 13 slam doubles titles – one short of tying Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva for second on the all-time list and seven short of Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver’s 20

Soon enough Venus’ time will come to an end too. But like everything else she has done, she will write her ending in her own fashion, just like Roddick has.