Venus the Olympian

"Time to pick up the pens and pencils," Venus Williams said, "and to put down the racket. It's back to college for me. I don't want them calling to ask where I am, like they had to last year."

She seemed not at all put out by the idea of a return to her studies, despite having just come off the Homebush court after beating Elena Dementieva of Russia by a very comfortable 6-2, 6-4 to win the Olympic gold medal in the women's singles.

Added to Wimbledon and the US Open, this made it three big tournament victories in a row for the 20-year-old American, who has not lost a match since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario beat her in the quarter-final of the French Open at the beginning of June. Counting all her tournaments, that's 32 matches without defeat.

"This means a lot to me," she said, fingering her medal, just in case anyone assumed that a bauble without prize money attached could be of little value to one of the millionaire goddesses of the pro tennis tour.

"I wanted to come here because I'd be playing for my country. It only comes around ever four years and you never know, this might be the one moment in time for me. I worked hard for it and now I'm tired. Actually I've been feeling tired for a while, but this is the first time I've admitted it to you guys."

In truth she was nowhere near her sharpest against the 18-year-old Muscovite. But Dementieva conceded that her opponent has raised her game in recent months, comparing yesterday's experience with their only previous meeting at the Fed Cup a year ago, when the Russian won in three sets. "One year ago she only had a good serve and some shots," Dementieva said. "Now she's doing everything."

A few minutes later, Williams herself addressed the phenomenon of her own improvement. "I've been ready to go out and take it, and not just hope that somebody would give it to me. I guess I've graduated to a different level, where I can be with some of the greats."

Well, her latest title certainly puts her in exalted company. Of the 12 times the women's singles has been held at the Olympic Games, it has been won on five occasions by some of Wimbledon's greatest multiple champions. Charlotte Cooper, winner of the first gold medal in 1900, also took five All-England singles titles. Dorothea Lambert Chambers, the winner in 1908, won seven. Suzanne Lenglen, the 1920 champion, had six. Helen Wills, whose gold medal came in 1924, had eight. Steffi Graf, who won the first gold medal after tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988, had seven.

And from the way she has played in recent months, you would not bet against Venus Williams joining them. What there any player she still feared? "I don't have any fear. I fear myself the most. Sometimes I can get a little crazy and make a lot of mistakes."

Her gold medal will be framed, she said, perhaps surrounded by the collection of pins she has amassed over the last couple of weeks. "That will make a nice reminder of Sydney." But she added that a gold medal in Thursday's women's doubles final would mean even more to her than the singles medal - "because it would be with Serena, and that's family."

• Read the full version of this interview tomorrow in the Guardian.