In case you missed it Saturday night, Serena Williams lost in the semifinals of the US Open to Kim Clijsters.
The 6-4, 7-5, match should have been remembered for Clijsters taking one more step toward her comeback. The woman took off 2 1/2 years and will be the first mother to win a grand slam since Evonne Goolagong Cawley (sweet name) won Wimbledon in 1980. Instead, the match will be remembered for Williams' immature, curse-filled temper tantrum.
Williams was serving at 15-30, 5-6 in the second set, when she the line judge called Williams for a foot fault. It was Williams' second serve, so she lost the point. That's when Williams went off. She marched toward the line judge dropping numerous f-bombs and appeared to say that she would shove the f-ing ball down the line judge's throat or up her ass. Neither sounds pleasant.
Somehow that inital blow up didn't lead to a penalty, and it looked as if Williams would let it go and serve the next point. Williams wasn't done, though, and she started yelling again. As a result, the line judge ran over to the chair umpire, and Williams was forced to forfeit the point to end the match. It was Williams' second penalty. She broke her racket after losing the first set. Another mature action.
How could Williams argue so much about a foot fault? When a player is serving, they aren't looking at their feet. The line judge's only job in this case is to make sure the player does not step on or over the line. I have to think the line judge got it right. Just because it's the semifinals of a major doesn't mean judges should turn a blind eye to infractions.
When tournament officials asked the line judge what happened, the television audience could hear Williams save "I didn't say I'd kill you!" Now, I didn't hear Williams say those exact words, but something tells me that if you shove a tennis ball down someone's throat, they will probably die.
In the post match press conference, Williams actually claimed she didn't threaten the line judge, which is a lie. Maybe it was an idle threat, but she did scream she would do bad things to the line judge. Williams also refused to issue an apology for her actions. If you saw the press conference, you know Williams thinks she was the victim.
The world's No. 2 player even went so far as to say she didn't think the line judge new the rules, and that the penalty would end the match. News flash, Serena, the line judge probably knows the rules, you just think you're above them.
If you want to act like a child, go for it, but be prepared to accept the consequences.
Life's Been Good - Joe Walsh
While I in no way condemn her actions, and while I did not see the match, from what I read I heard the call was bad. At best you could call it close, but if it was that close you would not call it at all. And you say in the beginning that Kim will be the 1st mother in so many years to win a grand slam, when she hasn't won yet.
ReplyDeleteYou should watch the video of Serena's horrific reaction with her gutter language and violent threatening attitude before commenting. The line judge was just doing her job and called it as she saw it. There is absolutely no excuse for her behaviour in a civilised world. Also her attitude afterwards at her press conference was a farce.
ReplyDeleteThe replay is not a good angle, so it's hard to see if the call was right or not. According to the tennis rulebook a foot fault occurs whenever you foot touches any part of the court that is not behind the service line. So even if she barely touched the line, it was a foot fault. Just because it's the semifinals of a major doesn't mean the rule no longer exists.
ReplyDeleteWow, that comment was filled with typos. My bad.
ReplyDelete