FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. — Venus Williams‘ unexpected U.S. Open pullout due to an autoimmune disease, a condition that she says has sapped her energy and causes joint pain, has triggered an outpouring of support from many of her on-co
urt colleagues, among them Roger Federer, who says Williams can count on backing “from the tennis family,” and Andy Roddick, who says he’s continually amazed by Venus and her sister Serena’s unlikely inner-city-to-center-court story.
“If you actually think about it, I think we take it for granted,” said Roddick, who on Wednesday moved into the second round, where he’ll face another native Nebraskan – up-and-comer Jack Sock. “A lot of times they’ve drawn a lot of criticism. But trust me, [in] five years, when they’re gone, everyone is going to miss them. Everyone is going to realize they’re going to be living legends for the rest of their lives. Two girls from Compton dominating tennis, that’s not an everyday story, the way they’ve gone about it.”
“Venus is just the epitome of class, the way she’s gone about it,” added Roddick. “I don’t think she’s ever even had a sniff of controversy around her. She’s just done it the right way.”
Venus has made it clear that, despite being on the other side of 30, she has no intention of retiring in the immediate future, and that a gold-medal run at the London Olympics is chief among her goals.
“When I think of her I think of Wimbledon,” said Roddick of the five-time All England Club champ. “I feel like that’s just where she belongs. You know, it just seems right there.”
Roddick has known the Williamses since his junior days. In fact, he once squared off against Serena in Delray Beach, Fla. (Serena says she won 6-1. Andy says it was more like 6-4, but admits losing.)
“My memories are when we’re 10 years old and we’re on the courts next to each other and it was all ahead of us,” he said. “There was all this hype around these two girls, but they weren’t playing tournaments, so everyone was talking about how good they were, how good they weren’t. Everyone had an opinion. Turns out they were pretty good.”
