Venus Williams has been inspiring players the world over for almost two decades and Omar Behroozian is no exception.
The UAE’s top player has always admired Venus, who is just one year older than him, and this week, he has been her designated hitting partner, helping her prepare for her title defence.
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While Behroozian, 33, has practiced with several legends before including Roger Federer and Jennifer Capriati, he admits sharing the court with Venus each day since she arrived last Wednesday, has been particularly special.
“I’ve admired Venus since she was young. I grew up watching her and it’s nice to play with her after all these years,” Behroozian told Sport360 on Tuesday.
“First of all, I respect her a lot for everything she’s done and second, it’s amazing how her level is still really high. I feel that I’m trying my best to help her and I’m also getting a lot out of practicing with her. I’ve really enjoyed it. The practices have been great.”
Behroozian had received an email from Venus’ team a week prior to the tournament asking him if he wanted to be her hitting partner and he says it was an easy yes.
“I’ve always liked how both she and (her sister) Serena conducted themselves, how they overcame major issues in their life to reach where they are,” he added.
“I feel proud to be able to be spending some time with her on the court.”
Venus, a three-time winner in Dubai, said she has also been enjoying her time with Behroozian on court. “He’s like all over the place on the court. He never gets tired. He’s in awesome shape, very competitive.
“We have had some really good trainings. Hopefully he’s enjoyed it, too. I think so,” she said.
Venus, who is looking to join Justine Henin as the only women to capture the Dubai title four times, takes on Lucie Safarova in the third round on Wednesday and the American icon appears to be in supreme shape at the age of 34.
She has affected the women’s game in more ways than one, be it fighting for equal pay, or being a trailblazer for African American players or pushing others to raise their level to compete with her.
“I like to think and hope I’m still part of the reason that the bar is going higher. Once I’m at home and watching it on TV one day and hopefully not commentating I will be like ‘man, I can’t keep up with these girls. They’re too good,” she says.
Venus could return to the top-10 by the end of this week should she win the trophy in Dubai and the way she has been playing lately, it wouldn’t be smart to bet against her.
“I just think that I have been able to get in a position to win some matches, and once you’re able to win matches it helps you to build momentum. Pretty much every match I lost I was still almost there. So that’s when you know you’re doing the right things and just have to continue to the finish line and keep trying,” she says.
