Venus Williams emotional after first-round victory at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England — Playing Wimbledon should be a joyous time for Venus Williams, who at 37 is making her 20th appearance in The Championships that she has won five times.

But the 11th seed, who on paper should be considered one of the favorites for the title, especially considering she reached the Australian Open final this season, is going through a devastatingly emotional time.

Williams dissolved into tears during her postmatch news conference Monday when attempting to discuss a recent car accident that she was involved in that resulted in the death of a 78-year-old man.

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Williams on Thursday in Palm Beach County, Fla., after Jerome Barson, 78, died of injuries suffered in that accident. Williams’ car collided with the car Barson was a passenger in June 9, and he died June 22. His wife, Linda Barson, 68, who was driving, also suffered injuries. Police said Williams caused the crash.

The interview session after her 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 first-round win against Elise Mertens of Belgium presented an uncomfortable situation for all, most especially when Williams no longer was able to speak about the tragic situation.

“Life, you can’t prepare for everything,” she said. “I prepared for a lot of matches, tried to get ready for whatever my opponent will throw at you, but you can’t prepare for everything.

“I have no idea what tomorrow will bring,” she added. “That’s all I can say about it. That’s what I’ve learned.”

She was asked further about the message she wrote on her Facebook page Friday, which read, “Heartbroken by this accident. My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Jerome Barson and I continue to keep them in my thoughts and prayers.”

Her response to the question was halted as she began to wipe away tears: “There are really no words to describe, like, how devastating and — yeah. I’m completely speechless. It’s just ...”

At that point, Williams sat silently and tried to control her crying but eventually had to walk out of the room. After composing herself, she did return to take a few more questions related to tennis and her match.

At the outset of the interview session, Williams acknowledged she never believed that 20 years on she would still be competing at Wimbledon. This is the Grand Slam tournament where she’s had her most success, winning the title in 2000, ’01, ’05, ’07 and ’08. The only other major where she has hoisted the trophy is the U.S. Open, which she captured on two occasions.

“I think I feel definitely very comfortable here,” she said. “I like the surface. That helps me a lot. I mean, I love all the surfaces. I’ve never been preferential. I only get to play on grass once a year, so it’s not like you get to practice on it. It’s like you sprint or not.”

The win against Mertens, making her Wimbledon debut, did not come as easily as the 6-3, 6-1 victory Williams posted against the Belgian in the recent French Open third round.

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After taking a 3-0 lead in the opening set, Williams had to contend with a feisty opponent. Williams struggled to close out the set, which she did when Mertens netted a forehand on a fifth set point in the tiebreaker.

Williams required five match points — two on Mertens’ serve in the ninth game, and three on her serve in the 10th game — before an overhead smash ended the 1-hour, 40-minute encounter.

“It wasn’t easy to convert the last points,” Williams said. “She played her best tennis there. You know, it’s never over until it’s over. The last point was nice to end it without, you know, something happening.”

Undoubtedly, Williams must be hoping she can go forward at Wimbledon without having to address the accident again, leaving her to try to concentrate on tennis under difficult circumstances.

And, at least for a brief moment, when Williams initially walked out onto Court 1, she did enjoy being back at Wimbledon.

“Today walking on the court, I love it here, so it’s always a feeling of coming back home,” she said, before speaking about the fatal accident. “It’s a special time of year.”