there is the old saying "show me a gracious loser and i'll show you a loser". That being said though, who cares. These press conferences and athlete statements are a joke. Get on the field, do what you have to do, then go away. I don't want athletes to be my role models, I don't care what (if) they think, just play and go home.
The saddest part about Serena's display wasn't even the fact that she wasn't gracious or that she was pissed she lost (which I don't think is the case). It was that she was pouting and whining. Show me a truly pissed Lou Pinella performance, then heh, I can live with that.
If you were a real tennis fan you would know the history of the serena-justine rivalry and the fact that henin's poor gamesmanship a few years ago at the french open in 2003:
"There is also a history between these two players that makes them mortal enemies. Four years ago at the French before a key point in their match then, Henin held up her hand just as Serena was about to serve. Williams, seeing this, half-heartedly hit her serve into the net. Williams rightfully expected to be able to hit that first serve again. The chair umpire, though, said she never saw Henin raise her hand to stop play. Henin, in a stunningly ruthless gamesmanship maneuver, refused to acknowledge that she held up her hand, essentially costing Williams her first serve. The French fans showed their bias and booed Williams (Henin is from the French portion of Belgium). Serena was shaken and never recovered from that point. She lost her serve that game and eventually the match."
Or did you come on here then and start a thread about what a poor sport henin was?
Oh man, I can't believe you're even trying to make this argument. The Williams' are the poorest sports around. The thing that really gets to me is how little Serena cares about the sport. You can see she's not really in shape, and I just can't root for someone who doesn't seem to give a crap about the game. On the other hand, I think the antics of Serena and the rest of her family give Venus a worse rep than she deserves. I think Venus cares very much about the game, but her family make it seem like she's living in the middle of a circus -- I wish they just went away.
oh i get it...poor sportsmanship is only poor when some people do it...when henin does it it does not merit a mention. You obviously have something against them, but the people who pack center court to see them play don't, and they continue to win majors, so seems like you'll be seeing much more of them - sucks to be you.
By the way, do you root against Lincoln because he obviously does not "give a crap about the game" since he is in med school. I guess you'd rather they by myopic like so many other players on tour who seem to have no lives outside of tennis from the age of 8 or 9.
history wrote:
oh i get it...poor sportsmanship is only poor when some people do it...when henin does it it does not merit a mention. You obviously have something against them, but the people who pack center court to see them play don't, and they continue to win majors, so seems like you'll be seeing much more of them - sucks to be you.
By the way, do you root against Lincoln because he obviously does not "give a crap about the game" since he is in med school. I guess you'd rather they by myopic like so many other players on tour who seem to have no lives outside of tennis from the age of 8 or 9.
Posting a thread about Justine's sportsmanship in 2003 is like making a post bringing up Webb's decision to leave Michigan. Old news, pal, how dense are you?
not as dense as you apparently since my post speaks directly to the history of the bad blood between serena and justine. I guess someone as silly as yourself sees no connection between the 2003 incident and the way she responds to her now. how naive you are.
Are you equally annoyed by the statements of Mottram's coach (see link on first page)?:
"Bideau said Mottram's ability was unquestioned, and that he should have finished with silver at worst, all going well."
According to him it was the heat that did him in. Does this make Bideau trash in your eyes? By the way, I thought the initial excuses made reference to a hamstring injury. Which was it? What will it be next year for Beijing?
What's your point? So, Henin also exhibited poor sportsmanship 4 years ago. Does that excuse Serena's behavior?
And by the way, are the Williams sisters in medical school?
history wrote:
not as dense as you apparently since my post speaks directly to the history of the bad blood between serena and justine. I guess someone as silly as yourself sees no connection between the 2003 incident and the way she responds to her now. how naive you are.
You're right, I see no connection (sarcasm). I'm naive too. I could probably whoop you in tennis.
Wow..some dense ones on here today. Why the big brouha over Serena's 'poor sportsmanship' but not the same over Henin's the other way around. That was an ugly, ugly incident on court. I don't remember a 2 page thread then attacking Henin. How many maors has she won by the way?
No, but the Williams sisters have interests outside of tennis unlike many of the opponents they whip, so people get upset about that. I say good for them that they aren't as narrow-minded as many observers would have them be.
history wrote:
If you were a real tennis fan you would know the history of the serena-justine rivalry and the fact that henin's poor gamesmanship a few years ago at the french open in 2003:
"There is also a history between these two players that makes them mortal enemies. Four years ago at the French before a key point in their match then, Henin held up her hand just as Serena was about to serve. Williams, seeing this, half-heartedly hit her serve into the net. Williams rightfully expected to be able to hit that first serve again. The chair umpire, though, said she never saw Henin raise her hand to stop play. Henin, in a stunningly ruthless gamesmanship maneuver, refused to acknowledge that she held up her hand, essentially costing Williams her first serve. The French fans showed their bias and booed Williams (Henin is from the French portion of Belgium). Serena was shaken and never recovered from that point. She lost her serve that game and eventually the match."
I really don't much care about the topic, but it's pretty obvious that the unattributed quotation did not come from an unbiased, objective observer.
Again, what is your point? How many majors has Henin won? What about Henin's behavior in 2003? These are complete red herrings.
I don't know if there was or wasn't a thread on Henin 4 years ago. That is completely irrelevent. If Henin exhibited poor sportsmanship in 2003, then that was wrong of her. Does another athlete's poor behavior excuse Serena's behavior? Is Serena not responsible for her actions? She exhibited poor sportsmanship and has recieved deserving criticism. That is not unfairness. If you don't think Henin is recieving enough criticism for her actions, then next time she loses a match, and acts like a baby, start a thread about it. They are too seperate issues.
However, I will acknowledge there may be a racial/cultural element with regards to the fact that behavior percieved as obnoxious, poor sportsmanship, etc. by white people is not necessarily percieved the same way by other cultures.
I'd like to bang the shit out of Serena.
This is not a tennis forum.
Henin pulled out of the Australian Open final that she was destined to lose anyway deep into the last set against Amelie Maurismo, depriving Maurismo of the joy of the kind of triumph she deserved (which was more than to win on a DNF) and basically had nothing good to say about Maurismo afterwards. I recall another image of Henin and Mary Pierce waiting in the locker room before another Grand Slam final and Pierce trying to engage in mild pleasantry, and Henin saying nothing but looking at Pierce as if to say "die soon." Henin's a talented and tenacious player but pretty charmless and humorless and "good sport" is nothing that should ever be used to describe her.
Henin has won 6 majors, including the last three French Opens. If she beats Kutnetsova then that will rise to 7.