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Venus started playing tennis at 4 1/2 years of age on neighborhood courts, with her father Richard. She was and has been since then in love with the game and would just play for hours crying when her dad would make her stop. She turned pro on 31st october 1994. At Oakland, (California), she causes sensation by beating Shaun Stafford, 58th WTA player, and above all, leading 6/3 3/0 versus Arantxa Sanchez (WTA number 2).Then Venus limited her appearances on WTA tour. She was shielded by her father, who did not want her to get early worn-out. She was continuing her studies, and she got diplomate in 1997. This was the year of her first great results on the WTA Tour. In fact, Venus beginning the year 1997 with two great performances : - At Indian Wells (for her 10th professional tournament), as a wildcard in qualifying ranked No. 211, she won two matches to qualify for the main draw and then collected her first win over a Top 10 player, upsetting No. 9 Iva Majoli to reach the quarterfinals; in quarters, she stretched No. 8 and eventual champion Lindsay Davenport to a third-set tie-break before falling (score : 6/4 5/7 7/6); her ranking jumped 101 spots to a then-career high No. 110; she also reached doubles quarterfinals as a wildcard team with sister, Serena, upsetting eighth seeds Conchita Martinez and Patricia Tarabini in the first round. - At Lipton, after being led 1-5 in the first set, Venus defeated No. 28 Jennifer Capriati 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the third round before falling to eventual winner Martina Hingis 6-4, 6-2 (after holding a 3-0 lead). Moreover, the other summer tournaments were not better for Venus (new loss versus Nathalie Tauziat at Eastbourne en 1/8th , losses at the same level against Martina Hingis (6/2 6/1) at San Diego and against Anke Huber (7/6 ; 6/4) at Los Angeles, defeat versus Nathalie Dechy at Toronto first round). She makes some great performances : 6/3 6/4 victory versus Anke Huber (n°8 seeded), 7/5 7/5 win versus Sandrine Testud, and moreover, dramatic 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), victory over No. 11 Irina Spirlea at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Venus saved two matchpoints and went through. The first matchpoint was saved by a foolish backhand passing-shot ! Venus becomes the first unseeded woman to make a U.S. Open singles final. In the following she beats the WTA no1 Martina Hingis at Sydney, then steps to the final (defeated by Arantxa Sanchez). She gets to the Australian Open quarterfinals, and wins the first set versus Lindsay Davenport (in 18 minutes). A few weeks later at Oklahoma city, she beats her compatriot (6/7 ; 6/2 ; 6/3) for the fisrt time, and wins her first singles title (and her first doubles title too, with sister Serena). At 1998 Lipton, one year after being dominated by Martina Hingis, she won the title, beating her in the semis (6/2 ; 5/7 ; 6/2). It was her first major title on the WTA tour. In 2000, Venus entered the top players in history club after winning two consecutive grand slams (Wimbledon and the US Open) in a 26 winning match streak. She followed up with an incredible performance at the 2000 Sydney Olympics winning both singles and doubles.
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