CBSSports.com: Here's hoping for a repeat of Serena-Sharapova from 2004

By Art Spander
Special to CBSSports.com

WIMBLEDON, England -- Time-lapse stuff, this Wimbledon. For the ladies, nothing could be more enticing. Serena against Sharapova, back after injuries and titles, facing each other and giving the All England Championships another jolt.

As Andy Roddick correctly pointed out after his win Friday, if we're struggling for story lines at this 2010 Wimbledon, we need to get a different job -- and fast.

Read the full story here.

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RealClearSports.com: Serena Should Have Said She Was Sorry

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

NEW YORK -- What's the problem with saying you're sorry, with admitting you were wrong? To err is human, we've been told. So you make your mistake and tell everyone it was a mistake. Unless you're an athlete.

You've seen those phony statements, concocted by agents, where the individual deftly steps around the issue, never point-blank says, "I screwed up, and I'd like to say I'm sorry.''

Which is what Serena Williams should have said.

She's one of two or three best tennis female players in the world, arguably the best. But Serena embarrassed herself, embarrassed her sport during a U.S. Open semifinal.

Lost control. Lost the match. Was mad at herself and, in a expletive-filled tirade, took it out on a lineswoman who even Serena later conceded only was doing what she is paid to do.

A foot fault is a rare call in tennis. It occurs when a server touches the baseline with either foot. Despite denials that she never foot-faults, and seemingly is only guilty in New York, Serena has been called many times in her career.

When she was called in the U.S. Open semi was a problem, down a set to Kim Clijsters, losing 5-4 in the second set and 15-30 in the game. Foot fault. Suddenly it was 15-40, suddenly it was match point.

Suddenly Serena Williams, defending champion, 11-time Grand Slam winner, turned into an immature, foul-mouthed tennis brat.

She held a ball in her left hand, a racquet in her right and extending the left arm told the lineswoman, "I'm going to stuff this (bleeping) ball down your (bleeping) throat.''

In the NFL or the NBA or baseball, that threat would result in instant ejection. What it got Serena was a code warning, which, added to the warning she received for bashing her racket to the court in the first set, cost her a point. And at 15-40, that point meant game, set and match to Clijsters.

Whether a foot fault should be called at that juncture is a legitimate question, the same as whether a foul should be called in basketball in a tie game and a man driving to the basket and a second on the clock. But whether Serena disgraced herself is not a question. She did.

What she didn't do was apologize. In the post-match interview, a rather insincere Serena Williams, insisted, "I didn't threaten. I didn't say . . . I don't remember anymore. I was in the moment . . . I don't think it's necessary for me to speak about it. I've let it go. I'm trying to move on.''

So someone wondered if the lineswoman deserved an apology, and Serena, in her haughtiest voice, answered, "An apology for? From me? How many people yell at linespeople? . . .Players, athletes get frustrated. I don't know how many times I've seen that happen.''

That's no justification. Serena confided she has a temper, which is not an indictable offense. Serena confided one of her heroes was John McEnroe, notorious for his language when berating officials.

But Serena is almost 28 years old, supposedly a role model, as well as a fashion model. She's always placing a bottle of Gatorade next to the microphone during interviews to promote one of her endorsements. You think the company likes one of its stars swearing like a street punk?

Tennis is personality-driven. It is Serena Williams and Roger Federer who bring the attention. This isn't exactly inmates-running-the-asylum material, but the players have control. Even when they're out of control.
They are the lifeblood of their sport. They can get away with virtually anything.

Serena was fined $10,000, but she wasn't suspended. Having her beaten before the final of the Open was bad enough. She was the last American standing in American's championship. Not that she would have been standing even if she didn't go into her diatribe.

Clijsters, three months out of retirement, was outplaying Serena. Serena knew it. Serena was angry at herself. She took out it out on the lineswoman, of whom later Williams said, "If she called a foot fault, she must have seen a foot fault. I'm not going to knock her for doing her job.''

She didn't knock her, she trashed her. It was shameful. Then Serena had second thoughts. Then Serena was contrite. But she wouldn't apologize.

"It was a tough day,'' Williams justified. "I didn't play my best.''

Asked if she regretted losing her head, if briefly, Serena said, "I haven't really thought about it to have any regrets. I try not to live my life saying, ‘I wish, I wish.' I was out there and fought and I tried and I did my best.''

Her best was not very good. What we wish is a woman of Serena Williams' talent and reputation could say simply, "I apologize.'' We'd let it go at that.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/09/13/serena_should_have_said_she_was_sorry_96481.html
© RealClearSports 2009

CBSSports.com: Serena's shocking outburst continues bizarre Open

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

NEW YORK -- The ending was bizarre. The result was stunning. Serena Williams was bounced from the U.S. Open, as earlier she had bounced her racquet in disgust, on a code violation for cursing a lineswoman.

It was a sorry ending to what had been a competitive match, with Kim Clijsters basically outplaying Serena and then standing in disbelief as Williams was told the point she was penalized was the point that gave Clijsters the semifinal victory, 6-4, 7-5.

Williams, the defending champion, was serving at 15-30 in the 12th game of the second set Saturday night when she was called by lineswoman for a foot fault, meaning Williams' foot was judged to be over the baseline.

Serena screamed at the woman, "I'm going to shove this [deleted] ball down your [deleted] throat."

The lineswoman reported Williams' comments to chair umpire Louis Engzell, who then called a second code violation, which -- added to the one assessed to Williams when she bashed her racquet in the first set -- resulted in a loss of a point.

That point gave Clijsters the game and thus the match.

"I don't remember what I said," was Serena's comment when asked how she addressed the lineswoman. "You didn't hear? I said something; I guess they gave me a point penalty. Unfortunately, it was on match point.

"I've never been foot-faulted, and then suddenly in this tournament they keep calling foot faults. I don't know why [the lineswoman] said she felt threatened. I've never been in a fight in my life. I didn't think I would get a point penalty."

And nobody thought Clijsters would become the first unseeded player in the women's final since Serena's older sister, Venus, in 1997. Clijsters, back from a two-year retirement in which she married and had a daughter, will face Caroline Wozniacki in Sunday night's final. Wozniacki beat Yanina Wickmayer, 6-3, 6-3, in the other semifinal.

The way things had been going during this Open, anything was possible. Play had been rained out completely Friday, and then more rain Saturday forced postponement or rescheduling of numerous matches, including the two women's semis.

Normally held on Friday afternoon on the main court, Ashe Stadium, the women's semis were pushed back and back and back. Finally, the Wozniacki-Wickmayer match was shifted to the smaller Armstrong Court, and, after a lot of drying with hot air blowers, the two matches began simultaneously around 9:20 p.m. ET.

Serena, the No. 2 seed, never seemed in the match. She was broken three times. Then she lost her temper.

"That was a tough day," Williams said. "I didn't play my best."

But she also gave credit to the 26-year-old Clijsters, whose speed and strength were the equal of Serena, if not superior.

"Kim played well," Williams said. "I wasn't surprised. I saw her play in Cincinnati, and she played incredible. I thought, 'Wow, this is someone to watch out for.' I think it's really good to have her back on tour."

Clijsters, from Belgium, was champion in 2005. She was unable to defend in 2006 because of an injury, then in '07 dropped out to get married and start a family. But when asked earlier this year to play an exhibition with England's Tin Henman against Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, Clijsters got into shape in earnest. Now, in her third women's tour event after the return, she has surprised everyone.

Including herself.

"I'm in shock, really," was Clijsters' response when asked about reaching the final.

For Williams, a few days from her 28th birthday, the word is shocking. One moment she walks up to serve, the next she's being informed she's no longer playing.

"After she was called for the foot fault," tournament referee Brian Earley said, "she said something to the line umpire, who reported to the chair umpire. That resulted in a point penalty. It just so happens, that was match point."

Clijsters was as bewildered as Serena. Then again, while play went on, she was bewildering Serena.

"I came out of the blocks really well," Clijsters said. "I kept her on her back foot a little bit."

It was the front foot, when Serena was serving from the ad court, that did her in.

"If she called a foot fault," a contrite Williams said later, "she must have seen a foot fault. I mean, she was doing her job. I'm not going to knock her for doing her job."

When asked if she should apologize to the lineswoman, Serena said rhetorically, "An apology? For what? How many people yell at linespeople? "Players, athletes get frustrated. I'm sorry, but a lot of people have said a lot worse."

But not on this evening, in a semifinal of the U.S. Open.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/12196880
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.

RealClearSports.com: Changes at the Top of US Tennis

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

NEW YORK -- It's a sport built on names as much as talent. Tennis is different, except for golf. Most loyalties are with uniforms, no matter who's wearing them. If you're a Yankees fan, you're a Yankees fan whether the guy at short is Phil Rizzuto or Derek Jeter, and that lasts forever.

Tennis players come and go all too quickly. The window closes before you know it. What happened to Andre Agassi? To Pete Sampras? To Jennifer Capriati? To Martina Navratilova?

Careers are short. Players start young and retire young. You lose a step. Or some racquet speed. And coming up quickly from behind is some 19-year-old with great skills who virtually no one's ever heard of, especially if she or he comes from Serbia or Slovania.

To make tennis go in America particularly -- and that's where the television money comes from, where the yearly U.S. Open now underway draws 700,000 people during the two weeks -- tennis needs Americans near the top or at the top, Americans who are known throughout America, if not the world.

Andy Roddick and Venus Williams fit well into that category. They and Venus' younger sister, Serena, were about the only U.S. players who could make a showing in a Grand Slam event, about the only U.S. players who were celebrities as well as athletes.

But in a space of 24 hours, both were chased from the 2009 U.S. Open, Roddick on Saturday night by the man who might someday replace him, John Isner, and Venus on Sunday afternoon by a 26-year-old Belgian who had quit the game for two years to marry and have a baby, Kim Clijsters.

Roddick will be back. You can't be sure of Venus. She is 29, and despite the best intentions, most tennis stars start to slip around 30, especially because their bodies begin to fail.

Venus is having left knee trouble, wearing heavy taping. One of her great assets, the ability to fly around the court, has been restricted.

Serena still is capable. She again is the favorite to repeat last year's victory. Crushed her fourth-round opponent, Daniela Hantuchova, on Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Straight sets, a little more than an hour. The lady they call the Drama Queen, for all the incidents, was undramatic in a match that lacked any suspense.

So Serena is still here and one hopes will stay. But who's next, who to step in for Venus and eventually, if not now, Roddick?

Maybe Melanie Oudin, the Munchkin from the suburbs of Atlanta, who beat Elena Dementieva and then the glamour lady and former champ, Maria Sharapova.

Maybe John Isner. He had 39 service aces against Roddick, who himself holds the record for all-time fastest serve, 156 mph. Pow, smash, whap.

By all rights, Isner should have been the next Tyler Hansbrough. He's 6-foot-9 and from North Carolina. But he worked on his drop shot, not his jump shot. Then, unlike most tennis stars these days, he went to college, the University of Georgia, where he not only helped win an NCAA team title, he graduated. How about that, Dawg?

And how about the 5-foot-6 Oudin, also from Georgia? That's not a state people think about when it comes to a new Roger Federer or Chris Evert. But that's our problem, not Georgia's.

Oudin was to face yet another Russian, her third in a row, Nadia Petrova, in Monday's fourth round. Melanie doesn't figure to keep winning.

She's too young (17). Too inexperienced. But if she does keep winning, she has a chance to become the star America needs, after Serena and, depending on what happens, replacing Venus. If indeed Venus can be replaced.

An interesting phenomenon Sunday at Ashe Stadium. The crowd was supporting Clijsters more than it was supporting Venus Williams. Was that because Clijsters had been away and the fans were welcoming her return? Or because the Williams sisters, even as heroines, had stayed too long at the fair?

Isner said he had to play the match of his life to beat Roddick, who until the defeat had been playing the best of all the men. But if Isner is to make it to the top, as a player, as a personality, he has to have a lot of repeat performances, especially in Grand Slams. He has to rouse the curiosity of sports fans who don't know a volley from a rally.

Is he prepared and capable? How about Melanie Oudin? So often kids make an impression, and about the time the headlines arrive, they flame and burn out.

Oudin acts humble enough, something that will endear her to the masses, but how long does that last? And how long does she last?

You'd think in a country of 300 million, more than one or two could become a tennis star.

Serena, Venus and Andy were able to do it. Is there anybody else?

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/09/07/changes_at_the_top_of_us_tennis_96474.html
© RealClearSports 2009

CBSSports.com: For Serena, a win isn't a win without dramatics

By Art Spander
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com

NEW YORK -- The threats went unfulfilled. There was no brawl. There were no angry words. Serena Williams did get irritated, but only with herself.

"Because," she explained, "I wasn't very happy with my performance."

As compared to the previous time when she wasn't very happy with Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, accusing her of cheating when they faced each other the end of May in the French Open.

That's when Serena growled at Martinez Sanchez across the net, "I'm going to get you in the locker room for that."

That day Serena whipped Martinez Sanchez, on the clay court, not off it, winning in three sets. On Friday, an ocean away, Williams shook herself out of lethargy and won 6-3, 7-5 in the third round of the U.S. Open.

This one closed with a handshake, followed later by a denial from Martinez Sanchez she even heard Serena's boast three months earlier in Paris.

In the first set that day, Serena ripped a ball that virtually everybody contended hit Martinez Sanchez, meaning Williams would have won the point. But after the ball plopped back in front of Serena, Martinez Sanchez said it hit her racquet, not her body.

Serena then complained to the chair umpire, who attempted to avoid any decision.

"I said, 'Did you ask her?'" Serena said that afternoon. "He said, 'Well, she's saying it didn't happen.' I looked her dead in the eye. 'Why? Just be honest, if the ball hit you or not.' I mean, hello, it totally hit her.

"She just looked down, and I just have no respect for anybody who can't play a professional game and be just be really professional out here."

Then, having lost the argument and shortly later the set in a match she would take 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, Serena told the umpire, "She better not come to the net again."

Strong words? "Well," Williams answered, "I am from Compton, you do know ..."

We do, although Serena now is based in Florida with older sister Venus. Martinez Sanchez, 27, is from Spain.

Asked if there were a repercussion from the French incident, if that's the proper description, Martinez Sanchez said, "No. I never think about it."

You can be certain Serena hasn't stopped thinking about it. When confronted Thursday after a doubles match, she said, "The ball hit her."

On Friday, wearing a post-match T-shirt upon which was printed, "You Can't Spell Dynasty Without Nasty," Williams was less direct.

When asked if she lost respect for players whom she considered cheaters, Serena was more politician than critic. "I can only speak for me," she said. "I try to be very professional, extremely professional in my job. That's what I'm here to do, and win, I hope."

Read between the lines, or specifically interpret between the quotes. At the French, Serena sneered at Martinez Sanchez's refusal to admit guilt. "I would never do that," Williams said. "I've never done that. I've never sunk so low ... because that's all I've ever been was extremely professional to anyone I've ever played."

Implying, what, Martinez Sanchez was not? "She's a tough player," was the Williams observation on Friday. "I was just trying to go out there and do my best. And I knew I had to be serious today."

Serena's the Drama Queen. With her it's usually something. In 2003 at the French, it was the "C" word again, cheating, when eventual champion Justine Henin raised her hand while Williams was serving and later denied it. At the 2004 U.S. Open. Serena got some awful line calls while losing to Jennifer Capriati. That led to acceptance of the Hawk-Eye electronic replay system.

On Friday, Serena, defending champion in the Open, offered some histrionics when she was down 3-1 in the second set.

"I got nasty today, but to myself," was the way Serena framed it. "I was screaming to myself because I wasn't very happy with my performance ... I have my own mental issues, and everyone has to battle themselves sometimes."

Serena's autobiography, On the Line, reached bookstores a few days ago. She discusses her insecurities, the depression after sister Yetunde Price was murdered and her dealing with a muscular body she finally has come to accept and appreciate.

When someone wondered about early reviews, Serena reminded, "I've been playing this [tournament], so I've been working. I haven't had the chance to see the reviews yet. I've been doing the job that I've been doing."

Which Friday included a victory in which she got mad at herself, not the opponent.

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http://www.cbssports.com/tennis/story/12158741
© 2009 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved.