RealClearSports: 'Tough-as-Nails' Venus Out in 1st Round

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England — The response was a fusion of philosophy and defiance. A champion never concedes, which is why she is a champion. For a decade, Venus Williams, a queen here in a land of royalty, unquestionably was a champion of grace and grandeur.

Now, in one of those awful twists of fate, Venus has been stricken by an autoimmune disease named Sjogren's Syndrome, which has sapped her strength and stolen her brilliance.

Read the full story here.

© RealClearSports 2012