By Flint Wheeler
Serena Williams had a back complaint she tried to conceal before Sunday, but Ana Ivonovic noticed quickly that the best serve in women’s tennis wasn’t coming in as fast as expected, and started taking big swipes.
The No. 14-seeded Ivanovic ended Williams’ bid for a sixth Australian and 18th Grand Slam title with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory that took the hottest of favorites out of contention at Melbourne Park and opened up one side of the women’s draw.
Women’s world number one Serena Williams has held out the possibility of lifting her 13-year boycott of the Indian Wells tournament after being inspired by a movie about Nelson Mandela, the American said at the Australian Open on Friday.
Serena Williams and older sister Venus have never returned to the tournament in the California desert after being jeered by spectators in a controversial final in 2001.
Let’s take a trip back in time…
Back in 2001, the Williams sisters were one of the biggest draws in world sport. Athletic, colorful and exciting, they pulled women’s tennis into the 21st century and revolutionized the way the game was played, ushering a new era of power hitting and levels of athleticism that we’d never dreamed imaginable before. Their matches against each other were always highly anticipated but rarely (if ever) lived up to expectations. Unfounded rumors of the sisters starting to fix their matches began to circle and things all came to a head in March 2001, when they were due to play in the Indian Wells semi-finals.
Just four minutes before the sisters were due to take to the court, Venus pulled out, handing Serena a walkover into the final. The capacity crowd was livid and voiced their displeasure during Serena’s victory over Kim Clijsters the following day. Venus and her father Richard were booed as they entered the stadium and Serena was booed throughout the match and even as she held the championship trophy aloft.
Encouraged by their father, both sisters declared that the behavior of the crowd had been racist and stated that they would never compete again at the tournament. And that’s been the case ever since. “I don’t think you ever say it’s a lost cause,” current tournament director Steve Simon told 5 Live Tennis. “We have had communications with them over the years, many times, and we actually get along very well with them. They unfortunately had, in their minds, a bad experience here and have decided not to come back, but they know that they are welcome here and we get along famously. But they’ve got their reasons for not wanting to do it, and that’s the way it is.”
The Williams sisters have incurred considerable fines for their stance as Indian Wells is a mandatory tournament for all the top players. Many feel it is time they ended their boycott as the tournament supported them as youngsters, handing them wildcard opportunities but they both feel very strongly about this matter and it is highly unlikely that the Indian Wells spectators will ever see them again.
My take? Who cares! Does anyone really watch women’s tennis anyway? Let them pout in the corner while other young up and comers get those highly coveted spots. The tournament hasn’t exactly struggled in the years of their absence.
Flint Wheeler
Financial Services Professional
Visit www.FlintWheeler.Com
