Alicia Molik nonetheless completely remembers upsetting Venus Williams on the 2005 Australian Open as the previous Australian tennis star says she felt “invincible” going into the matchup and was assured that the American could be in for one thing totally different this time.
Between 1999 and 2004, Molik and Williams performed thrice and the now seven-time Grand Slam champion received all of these conferences routinely in straight units.
However when the 2 have been about to face one another within the 2005 Australian Open round-of-16, Molik – now 43 years outdated – was taking part in the tennis of her life and being on an eight-match profitable streak in the beginning of the 12 months. Additionally, the Australian was coming off an enormous second a part of the 2004 season that noticed her win three titles and win a bronze medal on the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Nonetheless, despite the fact that Molik was in excellent type, Williams was nonetheless extensively thought to be the most effective gamers within the sport and he or she was a four-time Slam champion on the time.
And when their Australian Open match began, it was clear proper from the beginning that Molik wouldn’t go down simple this time. In the long run, not solely that Molik did not go down and not using a combat, however she additionally beat Williams 7-5 7-6 (3) to make her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in entrance of her residence followers.
“I wasn’t the identical participant because the instances I would performed her earlier than. I hadn’t received as a lot, I did not have the identical rating, I hadn’t crushed as many top-tier gamers,” Molik instructed the Australian Open web site.
“I used to be driving excessive. I felt invincible. I used to be coaching so nicely, so laborious. I used to be clearly match, sturdy. It doesn’t matter what the rating was, what the temperature was, whether or not I had niggles, soreness – I simply knew I would get by means of all these tough matches.”
Molik tells how her coach ready her for the Williams matchup
On the time, Molik was working with coach David Taylor. And after the Australian booked a gathering with former world No. 1 Williams, coach Taylor did an in-depth evaluation of the right way to method the matchup and the right way to assault the American.
After the evaluation was accomplished, coach Taylor suggested Molik to attempt to go after Williams’ forehand wing together with her serve – defend with slices when wanted to lengthen factors and look forward to a possibility to assault – and to attempt to be aggressive when she had a clear alternative to take action.
“It did not occur in a single day. Numerous my confidence got here from wins, however I had an extremely lengthy and laborious pre-season. I put in loads of months of actually, actually laborious work, on the courtroom within the scorching summer season, within the fitness center – I keep in mind it fairly clearly. It was fairly full-on to arrange myself for every little thing and something,” Molik defined.
“It was the primary (Australian) summer season I actually felt able to delivering. And I used to be delivering. I would received Sydney, I used to be taking part in rather well. There’s so many matches you go into and also you’re kind of, ‘yeah, I’ve obtained an opportunity, I really feel I’d have the ability to do that’. However I truly knew I might beat her.
“(Dave and I) actually spent loads of time to suppose by means of and map out how the match in all probability would go. So I felt like in a manner I would kind of performed it out in my thoughts quite a few instances earlier than truly strolling out on the courtroom.”
Molik on if beating Williams on the Australian Open was her ‘profession spotlight’
When Molik beat Williams, it wasn’t simply her first win over the American but in addition one thing that landed her first Grand Slam quarterfinal look and assured a top-10 spot.
“It is proper up there. As a result of Venus was actually near being at her finest then. It was extremely vital. Not simply (beating) Venus; it was the spherical of 16 on the Australian Open. It additionally meant a lot, as a result of it is on residence soil,” Molik stated when answering if beating Williams at Melbourne Park was the spotlight of her profession.
“It was unimaginable. It is kind of that second you go, ‘oh God, I did it! I can do that! I did it at residence’ – it is twice as laborious on residence soil. That evening I felt like I used to be actually within the zone. It was the end result I consider the laborious work, the assumption, the preparation, the match wins within the lead-up, for confidence.”
After beating Williams, Molik suffered a heartbreaking quarterfinal loss after former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport outlasted her 6-4 4-6 9-7.
In the remainder of her profession, Molik by no means once more made a Slam quarterfinal and he or she was additionally crushed by Williams in 2007 Tokyo of their final matchup.
