Tennis Special Feature: The Rivalry between Serena and Venus Williams - Part III
The third part of this special tennis feature will outline the main achievements of the Williams sisters, both as rivals and doubles partners. The first two instalments were both an introduction and an analysis of the years from 1999 to 2001, and the progress
made by the sisters during that time span.
2001: US Open
The Williams sisters began the first year of the new decade by joining forces once again to take away the doubles title at the Aussie Open, held in Melbourne. This was a significant achievement for the pair, and they kicked off the New Year with a great
start.
In spring, the two sisters were slated to play against each other in a scheduled semi-final for the Tennis Masters Series at Indian Wells in California. However, amid a great deal of controversy, Venus Williams withdrew from the tournament before the match;
she cited injury as her reason. Consequently, fans as well as critics and the media accused the Williams family of match-fixing, claiming that Richard Williams (who is also his daughters’ coach) had ordered his elder daughter to drop out of the match. However,
this accusation was easily disregarded by almost everyone – Andre Agassi, American tennis legend, famously debased it as “ridiculous”. Serena Williams managed to win the final at Indian Wells against former World Number 1, Belgian tennis pro Kim Clijsters.
Despite the victory, Indian Wells was not a pleasant experience for Serena Williams or her family. In addition to the bad press related to match-fixing accusations, Serena was subjected to racial slurs; boos, hisses and catcalls from the crowd during the
match and after her victory, following her all the way up to the podium for the trophy presentation. The Williams have made it a point to avoid the Indian Wells tournament as much as possible since that incident, even after the Women’s Tennis Association made
the event mandatory.
In the year 2001, the Williams sisters only played one match against each other. This match was the final of that year’s US Open, held in Flushing Meadows. Prior to this meeting, the two sisters had never played against each other at the New York Grand Slam
tournament. However, both of them had won singles titles at the venue before. This was the first Grand Slam tournament final played between the two sisters during the Open Era. It was also the first final to be played among sisters since the Watsons had battled
each other in the Wimbledon final in 1884.
The 2001 US Open final was described by many sources as possibly “the most anticipated tennis final in years.” However, it seemed as if both players had been so overwhelmed by the hype surrounding the match that they suffered a case of nerves, and both performed
somewhat below their usual standards. Serena seemed particularly lethargic on the court, and gave away an easy victory to Venus who won the match with a score line of 6-2, 6-4.
The match was a bit of disappointment for the spectators, who had been excited about what they anticipated to be the best final played by two players on the Women’s Tennis Association, in quite some years. However, Peter Bodo summed it best when he said
that the first Grand Slam final between the sisters was “really a pretty lousy match.. even though it was a great performance by the winner.”
Recap:
In the year 2001, the Williams only played one final against each other. However, being their first Grand Slam final, it was an important step in their rivalry. In addition to this, they were mocked at the Indian Wells tournament, leading to their subsequent
continuous withdrawal from the event.
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