Venus Williams and Tomas Berdych pose naked for ESPN Magazine
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Venus Williams celebrated a first day victory at Wimbledon and has also set tongues wagging after stripping off for ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue.
The five-time winner, who overcame Torre Flor in three sets on Monday afternoon at SW19, has posed in order to raise awareness about her ongoing struggle with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disorder.
Reflecting on her battle, Williams, who was forced to stop playing for six months so debilitating was her illness, said: ‘Because of Sjogren’s syndrome, I have to be careful. If I train too hard then I won’t be able to do anything the next day.
Stripped down: The tennis star posed naked for ESPN Magazine's Body Issue, and also revealed new details about her health struggles
Eye on the ball: Williams enjoyed victory against Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain on day one of Wimbledon
'There would be times when I’d park my car at home, and I fell asleep behind the wheel because I was so tired! It’s a balance between pushing myself as much as I can and being reasonable about what I can achieve and what my body will tolerate.
‘At my worst point, I wasn’t able to play tennis at all,' says Williams. 'Just the whole quality of my life was compromised. You are so tired it hurts. You have to accept that you’re never going to be 100%.’
Williams - who won 6-4. 4-6, 6-2 – last won the showpiece competition in 2008 but has set herself on the way to what would be an extraordinary sixth title with an opening day victory
Meanwhile, 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych has become only the second ATP player to pose for the magazine, after John Isner did so last year. The number 6 rank, however, suffered a nervy day on at Wimbledon, finally emerging triumphant in a four-set victory over Romania’s Victor Hanescu.
Top form: Last year's Wimbledon quarter-finalist Tomas Berdych told the magazine that he works hard to stay in shape
The Czech star admits that he finds the grass court a challenging surface: ‘There are these low bounces and different movements, which is very difficult especially for my height and weight. I start to feel it in the lower back and the lower hamstring.’
‘However, my first Grand Slam final was at Wimbledon so I have no complaints about the grass.’
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