Venus pads Hall credentials

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - A recently-overlooked Venus Williams added to her Hall of Fame credentials last week by capturing her fourth Wimbledon and sixth major title.
The former world No. 1 Venus Ebony Starr Williams often has her spotlight stolen by her younger (and more talented) sister Serena, but the 27-year-old Venus pulled within two Grand Slam singles titles of Serena by securing her fourth Wimbledon championship in eight years when she got past upstart Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in last week's finale at the storied All England Club.
Aside from Bartoli, some of Venus' other victims at the AEC were French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic in the semis, fellow former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarters, and reigning U.S. Open champ and Aussie Open runner-up Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, this after almost losing to little-known Russian Alla Kudryavtseva in the opening round and okay Japanese Akiko Morigami in the third. She won both of those matches by taking third sets at 7-5.
Venus, who turned pro 13 long years ago, has now appeared in 12 Grand Slam finals, going an even 6-6. She lost to Serena in back-to-back Wimbledon finales in 2002 and 2003, also gave way to her little sis in the '02 U.S. and French Open finals and succumbed to Serena in the '03 Aussie finale. Venus is actually a weak 1-5 versus her younger sister in major finals, with her lone victory coming at the '01 U.S. Open.
So just imagine how many major titles Venus might have if she was the only professional tennis player in her family. Maybe her six Grand Slam tourney wins would be as high as 11, which would equal the tally currently held by the ever-growing legend that is Roger Federer, who notched a men's Open Era- record-tying fifth straight Wimbledon title last week.
As a matter of fact, the last time Venus lost in a Grand Slam final to someone not named Serena was 10 long years ago against Martina Hingis in New York.
Venus and Serena have, however, combined for six major doubles titles. Venus also owns two mixed doubles majors, giving her a combined 14 Grand Slam event championships. The mixed crowns came alongside fellow American Justin Gimelstob, with one of the victories coming against a tandem of Luis Lobo (who?) and...Serena.
FYI: Although Venus is a former No. 1, did you know that she has never finished as a year-end No. 1? She placed inside the year-end top five from 1998-2002, with her best-ever showing resulting in a No. 2 finish in '02. She's placed inside the year-end top 10 in seven out of the last nine campaigns.
Venus, who holds the record for the fastest serve in the history of women's tennis (128.8 mph), is currently 17th in the world, as she moved up 14 spots from No. 31 by virtue of her most recent Wimbledon success. The 6-foot-1 American star is now a stellar 51-7 lifetime at the "Big W."
Only four women have won at least four Wimbledon titles over the last 40 years, and they (legends mostly) are Martina Navratilova (9), Steffi Graf (7), Billie Jean King (6) and Venus.
Tennis company doesn't get much better than that!
And thanks mostly to Venus, the U.S. has produced seven of the last nine women's Wimbledon champions. Prior to this current hot stretch, the tournament had a 17-year streak of non-American-born titlists.