Venus Williams and the art of keeping it simple

Venus Williams clings to the mantra "Keep it simple." Seven Grand Slam titles and scores of accolades later, that hasn't changed.

The resolution to keep things simple also might explain why she sometimes responds to long-winded, sometimes complex questions with simple answers.

"Do you feel pressure to perform at a high level, after making two Grand Slam finals and finishing 2017 ranked No. 5?" she was asked after a practice session at last week's Tie Break Tens exhibition in New York.

"Simple answer," she replied, "No."

Other players might say the same thing, then go on to elaborate. But Venus is not an elaborator. She doesn't share kid sister Serena's outgoing gene, or the 23-time Grand Slam champion's relish for the public life. And for a long time, this very private person has been asked questions to which there might be no clear, simple answers.

How did the Williams sisters happen? How do you continue to do what you do at the age of 37? How does it feel to have to play your sister in a critical match? How does it feel to be the second-most successful player in your family? And so on.

Can you blame Venus for seeking refuge in simplicity? Try to delve into her aura by asking how she has come to handle losses so graciously even though the clock on her career keeps ticking away and she'll tell you: "Everyone handles losing differently. It's just me. No big explanation."

Yet we hunger for big explanations. What is the secret to her longevity in a sport that begins to ask players some very tough questions when they turn 30? For Venus, advancing age seems particularly dangerous because she suffers from Sjogren's Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that leaves its victims more prone to fatigue and joint pain.

The simple explanation might be the best one. She continues to shine because she so enjoys what she is doing. It's half the battle.

"The satisfying thing is putting in the work and getting the job done," she told ESPN.com earlier in the week. "When you do that and see the improvement, that's a great feeling."

That process might come under the heading of "character building." It's an idea that Venus endorses. "Nothing builds character more than sport. It builds character every single day, every single shot."

Venus has clearly accumulated a lot of capital in that department, despite facing unique challenges over two decades. In its own sphere, the game she plays provides a simple if partial explanation for her longevity at the elite level.

"My dad would always say, 'You have to get inside the baseline to really hurt a guy,' " said Spencer Segura, son of coaching legend Pancho. "Venus is one of the few pros who will consistently do that. Her game plan is simple. She'll crack that big serve and then step in to take control of the middle of the court and dictate with the forehand. It's hard these days with the dead strings and heavy balls, but she does it."

That one-two punch, the big serve backed by an atomic forehand hit from well inside the court, has been Venus's bread and butter. She'll be fixing up some more of it starting Saturday at Indian Wells in just her second tournament of the year. She has cut back her schedule significantly, a prudent concession to age as well as her engagement in other activities.

"It's a lot of work to be on tour," she said. "It's a lot of work to play in tournaments. You have to be at your best every single moment. If you don't want it that 1 percent more than the next person, you won't get it. Finding the motivation to do that every single time out is the challenge."