Serena Williams lost to Kim Clijsters in an out-of-character meltdown when she lashed out at a lineswoman for calling a foot fault. On Saturday night, Serena was down 5-6 after losing the first set to Kim Clijsters. At 15-30, she was called for a second-serve foot fault and suddenly found herself serving to stay in the U.S. Open. That didn't last long as she yelled something quite vulgar at the line judge and cost herself an unsportsmanlike conduct call, resulting in a forfeited point.
The Associated Press quoted her as saying "If I could, I would take this ... ball and shove it down your ... throat and kill you." Although I certainly do not claim to be a professional lip reader, it is pretty clear from the replay that the pauses in that quote were expletives of the F variety.
I don't think anybody saw it playing out this way. Without knowing the full extent of what was said, her conversation with the chair ump and tournament referee when the call was made gives us a good idea that something really nasty went down. Serena was arguing with the call and yelled loudly enough for her words to be picked up on CBS, "I did not say I would kill her, are you serious!?!"
In a post-match interview, the tournament referee, Brian Earley, explained: "She was called for a foot fault, and a point later, she said something to a line umpire, and it was reported to the chair, and that resulted in a point penalty. ... And it just happened that point penalty was match point. It was a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct."
The foot fault was close, I will give that to Serena. And it was poorly timed at a crucial moment in the match. But the punishment for her ensuing actions was more than justified.
There is no excuse for what happened. At nearly 28 years old (her birthday is September 26th), she has to be able to keep her cool and keep her emotions in check.
Williams was the high favorite to win the whole tournament, but she will no longer have that chance in this bizarre change of events. Clijsters was playing slightly better than Serena, but with her amazing power Serena could have easily battled from behind to force a third set.
It is a real shame to see Serena's run end like this. She was playing unbelievable tennis throughout this tournament and the match against Clijsters was close and exciting.
Despite being unseeded, Clijsters had proven to be Serena's toughest opponent thus far in the Open. She won a close first set (6-4) and traded off a few breaks with Serena in the second set. Williams just needed to hold her serve to force a second-set tiebreak. Hard to do that if you give up the final two points to rule violations.
So the finals are set in a strange sequence of events -- first the weather delayed the matches and now this.
Caroline Wozniacki knocked off Yanina Wickmayer (6-3, 6-3) and is set to play Kim Clijsters on Sunday. On the men's side, Rafael Nadal will play Juan Martin del Potro and Roger Federer will take on Novak Djokovic to establish the finals matchup for Monday.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
9-13-2009 @ 1:13AM
ytrymyluck said...
Don't worry, everyone. That Tiger Woods guy you used to know and love? Yeah, he's back. We found him. He was hiding at a public golf course named Cog Hill, awaiting a chance to lap a field that didn't seem to be playing the same course as he was.
Tied for the lead going into Saturday's third round, Tiger shot a 9-under 62, the course record, and moved seven shots ahead of the closest "competition." A day after the athlete Tiger is most compared to, Michael Jordan, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Tiger showed just how dominant he can be when the game is tuned. After a bogey on the first hole of his day, Tiger went on to make eight birdies and an eagle over his next 17 holes, putting up a 62 a week after he closed with 63 at TPC Boston.
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9-13-2009 @ 2:41AM
Greg said...
I guess you can take the girl out of Compton but you can't take the Compton out of the girl!
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9-13-2009 @ 3:03AM
paraphoto1204 said...
Absolutely unprofessional!! Her behavior was animalistic.
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9-13-2009 @ 3:25AM
Bob said...
*Gosh, I feel sooo bad for Serena...NOT! Her pitiful sportsmanship and whiny attitude finally cost her big time. And what a shame, it happened in a tournament she actually gave a crap about and was actually trying to win--gotta' shine on the big stages, right, Serena? Get some soap to wash that mouth out with. You're a professional, so try acting like one for a change.
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9-13-2009 @ 10:49AM
Kenn said...
I really don't understand the uproar. All we have is a woman who is 3X the size of a tennis linesperson, threatening or should I say allegedly threatening to shove a f****** ball down her f****** throat and possibly "killing her". Now I could see the uproar if she would have sat in her chair and yelled "You lie". If that would have been the case, we could make faces at her, and demand an apology or should I say make her apologize numerous times.
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9-13-2009 @ 11:36AM
cneumetzge said...
Can you say seek counseling????? She has major inner issues and has nothing to do with tennis.
Oudin is the next american up and coming player...
move over williams sisters.
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9-13-2009 @ 9:55PM
Uncle Eddy said...
Yer a nice little white girl and a southern bell besides
9-13-2009 @ 1:32PM
Michael gifford said...
well, clearly the rules were applied appropriately...just because it's at a critical point in the match one doesn't give her a break and let a foot fault slide, it would be like letting the second shot being out slide...Serena is a long time professional and knows the rule is the rule...secondly, it was 15-40....the foot fault didn't cost her the game, her reactions did, the one earlier that cost her the warning and then the second one on receiving the foot fault call...she still had the opportunity to come back from 15-40 as she has done masterfully before on other occasions....obviously something else was at work her...it's a bittersweet moment for Kim since she played well and the feeling of winning it was tainted, but a win is a win and she's now the favorite to win it all...
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9-13-2009 @ 1:52PM
mdavid8555 said...
Damn, these respondents are all Williams and Obama haters. These people have never done anything good or great. Anytime of downfall, just seize it and pounce on them and send them back to the jungle. Oh that poor line judge, she is 3 times smaller than Serena, and she was cursed at, not the first time in life, I am sure.. I luv u people though, u all make it so clear how f'ed up this world is, no America is. This is South Africa and hell all mixeed up in one, right here. I luv it. Keep coming with your comments.
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9-13-2009 @ 2:31PM
Bob said...
*Yeah, that's right, it's all the commenters fault. It has nothing to do with the fact that so many of those you're defending think violence should be the first option, and once called out on it, play it off as "just messing with you", or outright denying it. Get real, mdavid--other players throw tirades, but your precious Serena threatens to kill when she's angry, and had the size to probably back it up--so exactly what is it you find so upstanding about that conduct? That's okay, though, just keep blaming everyone else--it's clearly what you, mdavid, are good at. God forbid you should ever take some responsibility for your own actions.
9-13-2009 @ 2:00PM
Art by H G S said...
Serena was going to loose, it seemed to me, an amature Tennis aficionado. Down one set and behind in the second of a semi-final spells doom. Serena knew it and her frustration came out.
Her behavior, sadly, did not surprise me. After all it has been her physical abilities that got her where she is not her manners.
And if McEnroe was her idol, as she says, well?
Besides, not to worry cause as Janet Jackson, Madonna, and Britney she now has notoriety
which translates to mo money.
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9-13-2009 @ 4:28PM
Jan Jan said...
Serena has NEVER taken responsibility for her losses. Her and her sister always blame someone or something. Good for her.....I was to see her act like herself....an ass.
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9-13-2009 @ 6:49PM
Jane said...
Bad, bad, bad call. Totally unprofessional and unacceptable. No one should win an important match this way. Really sickening.
I wonder how many times the "bad" WHITE tennis players have had a game taken away from them, an important semi-final game? Is never correct?
I'm white, and this is racist and it's sickening.
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9-13-2009 @ 9:07PM
amp41569 said...
It has nothing to do with black or white. It has to do with tennis rules, and tennis etiquette, both of which Serena didn't follow, and she has to suffer the consequences of her actions.
9-14-2009 @ 12:07AM
bobozombi said...
Whatever - she was getting her ass handed to her anyway....the only thing that may be constued as racism here is the fact that she threatened a tiny asian woman, while mentioning she's from compton. Yeah, pull that card again and again....it just NEVER GETS OLD DOES IT?
9-14-2009 @ 6:55AM
Marty said...
The only thing unprofessional and unacceptable in this situation was Serena Williams. There is no racism here; any such suggestion is completely off topic.
Serena knows the rules of tennis. She knows they apply equally to EVERY SINGLE POINT of a match. She knew she would incur a penalty point if she broke the rules for a second time in her match. She chose to incur that penalty when she was down 15-40 match point. She was solely responsible for her tournament loss.
9-13-2009 @ 6:51PM
div5lex said...
Tennis is a dying sport in America in need of a Make over!What a farce!
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9-13-2009 @ 7:20PM
wexie said...
For the love of god. This has nothing to do with Obama. Serena acted unprofessionally and it cost her the match. Rightfully so. She still went over and was respectful to her opponent. She learned from the mistake and the world will keep spinning.
The fact that people have inappropriately brought race and politics into this is just absurd.
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9-13-2009 @ 9:07PM
jaipoetic9 said...
*Wondering how in the heck this story went from a "bad call" and a "temper tantrum" to "racism and Obama"...
Geez.
Get a grip!
9-13-2009 @ 9:42PM
Ingal99 said...
wow. thats sad, she's is playing in the us open and extremely admired and well known. well admired til now. that was very unecessary. not matter what was said. i dont care how bad of a day your having, shech the woman was just doing her job. and Kim dont worry you would of kicked her butt in that match anyways, you just got done a little quicker/sooner than planned. Kim you rock great sportsmanship Kim! Kim we applaud you!
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