Venus vs. Serena: The serve

[Colin]

Now that Venus is figuring out how to better manage her condition, should she spend the off season working with Serena on her serve?

Arguably, Venus' first serve, when it's on, is the most dangerous (certainly the fastest). Problem is it's not on for a consistent amount of time in a match, and her second serve causes her unneeded turmoil. Serena, by contrast, seems to be so dominant just because she gets so many free points on serve or sets herself up for a one-two punch so often it's nearly impossible to break her. And her second serve is so much better than the other women (except Stosur).

If Venus conquers the fatigue/health issue (or at least disguises it enough) and can improve her serve consistency, she has so much going for her in this WTA crowd even at this age with her athleticism and power at the net. It might not serve her that well early in the year, but come summer and Wimbledon/U.S. Open, she might just be a contender again, one last time.

Problem is she just likes to go for that first serve, like Sharapova. (So many similarities to Maria ... it's not a surprise that, as Lindsay Davenport explained, Serena is able to play Maria so well with her power game because it's so much like Venus.) But Maria came back from injury and has steadily improved consistency, enough to be No. 2 now.

Can Venus do something with her toss, technique or mindset to improve as well, or is it just too late at this point?