Broomfield – It was more exhibition than match, but Serena and Venus Williams at less than full speed are still more than enough to pump up a crowd hungry for the type of tennis that only the world’s elite can provide.
All it took was a rocket serve from Serena or a sweeping forehand from Venus to elicit oohs and ahs from the crowd of nearly 4,400 for the opening leg of the third annual McDonald’s Williams Sisters Tour on Thursday night at the Broomfield Event Center.
After trading a few games to fully warm up, Serena and Venus gave the fans an impressive display of the talents that once took them to the top of the professional rankings.
Serena won the exhibition in straight sets 7-5, 6-3, but it was the $30,000 presented to the Ronald McDonald House Charities beforehand that meant the most to the sisters.
“We’ve been working with McDonald’s for a quite a few years now, and we are just trying to keep it strong and keep it going,” Venus said.
The Williams sisters have combined for 28 Grand Slam titles and three Olympic gold medals. Their tour visits New Orleans and Charlotte, N.C., next week.
It was the first time the Williamses have played in or around Colorado, and it was the first display of world-class tennis in Denver since Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles played in an exhibition in 2002.
The match, combined with their work with children, made for a long day for the sisters.
“These days are basically 16-hour days for us. We wake up at 6 and go, go, go until the end of the match,” Venus said. “We try to do as much as we can with our time.”
With their time on the court, the sisters mixed fun with a sibling rivalry that doesn’t seem to fade whether they are playing on Wimbledon’s center court or in the mile-high air.
Tied 5-all in the first set, Serena sent her sister on a back-and-forth run along the baseline, finally beating her with a forehand deep in the corner. After a wicked backhand winner in the second set, Serena gave the crowd a fist-pump and Venus provided a little Harlem Globetrotters showmanship with a dejected smack of her racket.
Venus even turned to the crowd for assistance.
“I’m down love-3 and I’m playing Serena Williams. I need some help,” she said between sets. It didn’t work.
“I took it very serious, and I won!” Serena joked afterward.
