serena

I don't deny anything you said.

I cannot stand her arrogance. She's also a drama queen. She's been disrespectful to her opponents way too many times after a loss. I pray for the day she retires.

 

I concur with you and the op...both correct.

I have further thought she has been disrespectful of the game itself.

that said, her game has been one where she has utilized her strength and power to just blow opponents off the court. it is either outright winner or knocking the ball in the bottom of the net. I have never been a fan, appreciated her game or felt there was anything near a competitive element during her reign.

 

+1

I can't stand her. I hope for someone to beat her at every tournament, but it doesn't happen.

Still..you can't deny what she has accomplished, and continues to accomplish.

 

Yes, she's an incredibly powerful, dominating athlete.

She apparently sucks at being a sportsman-like human.
I don't like watching her.

 

Same here - incredible athlete, but too much drama. A lot of that is derived from her father Richard.

No denying her position - arguably the greatest of all time (although she needs to pass Margaret Court's 24 GS titles in my opinion). But I think the real value that the Williams' sisters (and their father) have provided to tennis is the way they were developed.

They were NOT placed in the best schools / academies - in fact, largely trained and schooled by their father. You might ask why that's such a big deal, but consider other sports where the "pay for play" model restricts or excludes people. In that model, you will NEVER have the best players rise to the top, you'll only have the "best of what's left" - think Major League Baseball before integration.

I'm passionate about this subject, even more so as I coach girls' soccer - I see this ALL THE TIME. Both of the teams I coach consist of girls that were cast off from other teams because they "weren't good enough" or couldn't pay the tab to play.

Both teams have won trophies, and 15 out of 18 of my older girls team played on their middle school teams alongside the so-called "better" players. I've developed 2 "cast offs" into EDP (elite level teams / players) players, and others to teams playing in far better leagues than where my teams play.

The Williams sisters show that you do NOT have to follow that model to get where you need to go. It's different for all sports - but in tennis, and certainly for girls soccer (and to some extent boys soccer) you don't need to be on the "label" team to make it.

 

For me, this sums it up:

Serena threatens the line judge:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-2-63IhLtk[/ame]

Her interview afterwards:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuQmjV7Yfi8[/ame]

Check out her body language and attitude. She doesn't think she needs to answer for her actions.

She's an awesome athlete, but shows such disdain for anyone who is not her.

Matt

 

Ever since that US Open match I have been waiting for her to retire.

It is interesting how different she is from another great tennis champion, Roger Federer. Fed is the definition of class and Serena is the exact opposite.

It seems like the only time Serena loses matches, is when she isn't paying attention, or just doesn't care. If she focuses, even 50%, she can beat almost every female player.

 

She should retire and hook up with Ray Lewis. Storybook ending.

 

Interesting comments thus far, but I think some of us have unreasonable expectations?

The last thing I am seeking when I watch a world champion athlete is for them to also be the ambassador of good social graces, diplomacy, fine manners and a general poster-child for 'how to win friends & influence people'.

I simply want to watch a best-in-the-world performance!

Charming personalities most world champions are not, and I can think of a few present world champions (& others from the past) that fit this description nicely.

Furthermore, I suspect most world champions don't care what you & I think. They care even less what their competitors think. They just want to WIN!

So far as they follow the basic rules of the sport, all's good.

That killer-instict and relentless drive that makes them such dominant & competitive machines has long-since put paid to any practice of extending courtesies to those they have to engage with. The way I see it, many of the best athletes are temperamental & mean, and they harness that same intensity to give them an edge in their performance.

There are some world champions who are thoughtful, kind & well-mannered, but we can't expect all of them to be like that.

 

Navratilova is GOAT

Serena is goat detritus

Venus, on the other hand, is an Ambassador for Tennis.

I'm really, really, really looking forward to changing of the guard.


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She is very unlikeable.

I'm sure they will strip away all the titles though once they finally discover the male genitales she's been hiding.

 

''I thought she played the best tennis in her career,'' Williams said about Vinci. ''She played, literally, out of her mind.''

Always so humble in victory. Alway so gracious in defeat. Yeah.

I rest my case. I pray for the day she retires.

 

Im sure many are happy then that she got ousted today in the semi finals!

 

Italians are playing good tennis!

 

I saw Serena's entire interview. I thought she was fine. No excuses, and complimentary to her opponent.

Now change in plan for tomorrow afternoon - off to Boston's North End to watch the tutto italiano finale!

 

''She played, literally, out of her mind.''

Did you miss this part? I've played competitive tennis my entire life. You don't say this after a loss. If you have some class I mean.

 

Veni, Vidi, Vinci


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+1

That, and I REFUSE to watch any tennis where either or both players GRUNT.
They didn't do it 30 years ago, so why now?

 

No, I didn't miss that part, but I didn't find her interview as being disrespectful. I mean clearly she was disappointed, but then who wouldn't be in that situation.

I also saw the on court interview they did with Roberta. She was asked when she woke up this morning did she think she could beat Serena. I can't quote her exact response, but it was something like she had zero expectation of winning.