Grunting Serena Williams’ Intentional Hindrance To Being A Good Sport
SERENA Williams lost the final of tennis’s US Open to Australia’s Sam Stosur.
And she is not a good loser. Good sports do not make great champions. (John McEnroe get the enduring fame for his 1981 tennis brat outburst but if you want to see a real tantrum go to Monica Hingis in the French Open in 1999, when the Swiss Miss cried, argued, served underarm and walked onto her opponent’s side of the court.)
The highlight of what should have been Stosur’s day occurred when Williams hit the ball and before her opponent had had the chance to hit is back yelled “Come on!“. Umpire Eva Asderaki said Williams was guilty of “intentional hindrance” and awarded the point to Stosur.
Williams’ response was fluid:
“If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way, because you’re out of control… You’re totally out of control, you’re a hater, and you’re unattractive inside. Who would do such a thing? And I never complain. Wow… We’re in America last I checked. Can I get a water or am I gonna get violated for a water? Really, don’t even look at me! I promise you, don’t look at me, ’cause I am not the one. Don’t look my way.”
Can you get violated for having a drink of water? Does a dash of Robinson’s Barley squash protect the drinker from molestation? And if you can be censured for yelling, why not for grunting? Williams says she modelled her grunt on Monica Seles, whose trailblazing grunt was akin to being shot in the leg by an AK47. Seles could also do shrieks, helps and whinnies. She had the lot in her locker.
The big shock was that Williams lost the final in straight sets, well before her grunt had had the chance to its stride. Fans looking for her hymned cannonball shot to the guts left disappointed.
And, then, for grunt fans the acoustics at Flushing Meadow are notoriously unkind. The planes, the ambient noise of drinks being ordered and the swirling winds all reduce the grunt. Anorak prefers the French Open, where the demure crowd and slower clay courts let grunters hit the big ones. One day TV coverage of the French Open will feature the sound of grunting played over the opening scenes to Saving Private Ryan and the end bits of Zulu…
Posted: 12th, September 2011 | In: Sports Comments (3) | TrackBack | Permalink
