Venus Williams and Jamie Murray look the part in giddy victory

There’s a certain lèse-majesté in turning up at Wimbledon and calling yourself Venus. And it’s worse if the original Venus herself is in attendance, staring you down from the other side of the net. Certainly, Michael Venus, the world No 11 doubles player from New Zealand, would have known that every time the wags in the crowd shouted “C’mon Venus!” (or even “Marry me, Venus!”), they were exclusively cheering for the five-time Wimbledon women’s singles champion, at whom he was firing treasonable volleys.

Venus Williams has graced this tournament with her regal presence for 24 years now, just shy of her silver jubilee. On Friday evening, playing mixed doubles on No 1 Court with Jamie Murray, there was every evidence that she still rules OK. In spite of her age (42), in spite of her lack of match practise since last July, and in spite of the persistent leg injury still hinted at by the tape on her right thigh, Williams still had the power to make her namesake regret taking on her serve.

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There was just the right amount of jeopardy in her and Murray’s first-round defeat of Venus and his Polish partner Alicja Rosolska 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 in a match that took three sets and two and a quarter hours. After the game, Williams joshed her partner for playing hard to get (he turned her down for this gig last year, pleading a sore neck), but the truth was, she herself had had no plans to pick up her racket until she watched her sister Serena in action on Centre Court and felt suddenly inspired. “I saw the grass and I got excited,” said Williams. “That’s why I was asking him last minute. He just had a baby, too, so I know there’s a lot going on.”

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