WATCH: Venus Williams turns the tables on age

After her straight-sets defeat of sister Serena Williams in the BNP Paribas Open's third round, the age-defying Venus Williams delivered another round of vocal gold. Stadium and Tennis Channel announcer Andrew Krasny beckoned her to speak to her enduring WTA journey at age 37, and – no stranger to such a question – she barely skipped a beat.

"Well, Andrew, I never go around talking about how old you are," came Williams' winking response.

"We're the same age," Krasney replied with a laugh, "but next question." As shown in the full interview clip below, he knew his heralded interviewee was ready to move along with the conversation.

That's so tennis: The players always need to know when to pivot in their tactics, be the situation serious or good-natured such as this instant-classic vignette – and the announcers often need to do the same.

Consider how the narrative has shifted – how Venus herself has changed the media story on this. With two major finals, a major semifinal, a return to the Top 5 (now Top 10) and a WTA Finals championship appearance in 2017, the future Hall of Famer is no longer interrogated one-on-one or by the press at large about rumored retirement. Rather she is asked openly about the career path she continues to carve out fresh each week.

Venus​ backed up her victory over Serena (her 12th in 29 sanctioned intra-family matches in their careers) with a win over Anastasija Sevastova and then Carla Suarez Navarro to secure her spot in the Indian Wells semifinals.

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