Venus and Serena Williams

[WriterDom]

In the US Open finals.

How cool is that?

 

[Laurel]

I read that their father went home because he doesn't want to be there to watch the daughters pitted against each other. WTF is that about? Should he be there to comfort the loser and congratulate the winner?

 

[Thumper]

Da winnah!

Is both of them.

As a father I couldn't imagine not being there.

And it is the ultimate in cool.

 

[YoungGun69]

The real winner is their father because he is both their agents.

 

[miles]

The real winner is their father because he is both their agents.

Richard Williams is total asshole.

 

[Sephiroth]

Originally posted by miles

Richard Williams is a total asshole. [/B]

Yeah, what Miles said.

 

[TonyG]

I also have to agree.

 

[YoungGun69]

I adree as well.

Dam this is scary.

 

[sweetvee]

Venus won, beat Serena 6-2, 6-4.

 

[YoungGun69]

Venus won, beat Serena 6-2, 6-4.

http://www.canoe.ca/Sep8/tennis_top-rtr.jpg

Big sister knows best

Venus whips Serena for historic U.S. Open title

Venus Williams holds up the winner's trophy after defeating sister, Serena, Saturday. AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- Venus Williams loves her kid sister and told her so, right after giving her a very public spanking in a match that was far more historic than dramatic.

Venus won her second consecutive U.S. Open title by beating the more erratic Serena 6-2, 6-4 Saturday night in the first Grand Slam final between siblings in 117 years and the first women's final televised in prime time.

Family ties tempered Venus' joy.

"There have been some good things and bad things," she said during the trophy ceremony. "I always like to win. But I'm the big sister. I want to make sure she has everything, even if I don't have anything. It's hard. I love her too much. That's what counts."

At which point Serena, tears welling in her eyes, said, "Stop!"

"For the younger sisters, we always look up to the older sisters," the 19-year-old said, "because they're always ahead of us and they always win."

Venus, 15 months older, won for the fifth time in six sibling matchups, including both previous Grand Slam encounters -- the 2000 Wimbledon semifinal and the opening round at the 1998 Australian Open.

"I'm disappointed but only a little, because Venus won," Serena said.

It lasted just 69 minutes. The sloppy quality of play was similar to their other meetings, with both spraying shots and neither displaying their full array of overpowering strokes that often overwhelm other top players. Missing was the flair that helped the Williamses eliminate Martina Hingis and Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals.

Such shaky play has raised suspicions in the past that their father and coach, Richard, might be telling which daughter to win. But a better explanation simply may be the complex psychology of the occasion. The match was the 10th between sisters in a Grand Slam match during the Open era, with the older sister winning every time.

Venus had 19 unforced errors, not including the shot she whiffed on a ball that landed long anyway, and Serena had 36. There were seven service breaks, unusual for players with such dominant serves, and little sense of momentum in the second set.

But there were some dazzling exchanges as both players swung from the heels, putting all their strength into every stroke and grunting as though fighting over a toy.

Then it was all quickly forgotten as they somberly met at the net and embraced.

"I love you," Venus said.

It was the family's third consecutive Open title. Serena became the first Williams to win a major championship two years ago, and Venus won last year.

"If I was the younger sister, maybe I'd feel more joyful," Venus said. "I don't exactly feel like I've won. If I was playing a different opponent, I'd probably be a lot more joyful, but I'm happy to have won the U.S. Open again."

On Sunday, a rejuvenated Pete Sampras will bid to extend his record of 13 major titles against first-time Grand Slam finalist Lleyton Hewitt.

Sampras avenged a loss in last year's final by beating Marat Safin 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Hewitt won the most one-sided men's semifinal in Open history, drubbing Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-1, 6-2, 6-1.

Williams vs. Williams attracted a capacity crowd of 23,023 generously sprinkled with rappers, actors, former tennis stars and other celebrities.

"I wouldn't have missed it either if I knew something so historical was going to happen," Serena said. "I guess a lot of people want to watch us."

Nowhere to be seen was the father of the finalists, who groomed his two daughters from an early age to become Grand Slam champions. Richard Williams booked a mid-afternoon flight Saturday home to Florida because he said he couldn't bear to watch one of them beat the other.

"You guys have a good time," he told them as he climbed into a car headed for the airport. "Win one for me."

 

[p_p_man]

What's with the Agency story?

 

[YoungGun69]

www.cnnsi.com more like it.

 

[Mr. Bootie]

Venus has the Mental game.

I think Serena is the better athlete. However Venus has the tougher Mental attitude. She doesn't play well untill she is threatened. Than she just kicks ass. The worst thing you can do to Venus is to piss her off. If you don't bury her, and take her heart out..............She'll come back to beat you. That's why she's so exciting to watch. Go Venus. You're well on your way to joing the likes of Billie Jean King, Chris Evertt, Martina Navratilova, and Steffi Graff's company. She could dominate the womens game for awhile.

kgboot