It's time to start looking at Serena's titles

I can look at many things at once ...

I'm a die hard Venus fan, but after this weekend I have to concede that Serena is the better player.

Steffi Graf has 22 Grand Slam Titles

as much as Serena Williams irks me, i can't deny that she's one hell of a tennis player! obviously she's talented and has proven to be a very determined and hard working athlete, coming back from injury and climbing back up the rankings ladder over the years... but OMG, her arrogance and cockiness makes it REALLY DIFFICULT for me to like her. maybe if she learned some grace and humility i'd actually be more inclined to embrace her as a top player and root for her. She should really take notes from her sister... Venus is always gracious whether it be winning or losing, and that is something i can appreciate!!

The Wimbledon final was a snoozefest.  The Williams sisters are so boring when they play eachother.  But Serena's semi-final match was great.  Listeners to BBC radio were asked to send in suggestions for how Dementieva might beat her and they came up with three:

1) Come to the net
2) Open an Balenciaga handbag concession next to the Umpire's chair
3) Grow extra arms like Vishnu

Not a fan of the style of tennis they play, i don't find it in the slightest bit entertaining, Serena's t-shirt was the highlight! Womens game aint what it used to be.  Women's doubles and mixed tho is still fun to watch.

I find that a lot of the women under perform. Look at Safina - ranked number one and couldn't get more than one game in the semifinals against Venus. That is what I would call deplorable and completely unacceptable. So when I hear people complain about Williams finals/matches being boring it gives me pause. Serena vs. Venus matches are 80% more interesting than many other player match-ups.

That's the only reason I am a tennis fan. The guys are skilled and everything but not nearly as exciting for me as watching the women play. Hmm, can't think of why that is ...

I'm sick of the ear-piercing screams from each of these sisters, and the other women players who insist on this "tactic". It's what took me away from watching Monica Seles matches long ago. It takes all the joy away from watching a high quality game of tennis. I miss the game as played by Evert, Graf and Navratilova. There seemed to be more strategy in their games. Chris Evert won those tournaments playing from the back lines for the most part. She knew angles and how to make her opponent run back and forth so much they would be sucking air at the end of their points. And when she was faced with the power of Martina, her game held up. That was women's tennis at it's finest IMO.

I wish the Williams sisters all the luck in the world. I just won't be watching them, or any of the other screamers anymore. I'll just watch the men play.

The WTA tour rankings are based on points that are accumulated throughout tournament play, with different point values associated with how well you do in the tournaments you play in. Often times players drop due to injuries, etc...but, players aren't selected to be #1, it's based on how many points they have. So, you could have a #1 that plays tons more tournaments, but perhaps doesn't win them all. Or at least the majors, but still performs well, like making it to the finals/semifinals.

I don't disagree that there are still many prejudices in this country, but I'm not sure I believe this is one of them. I do think Serena is playing the best tennis of anyone on the tour right now and if she keeps it up will definitely overtake Safina. After her Wimbledon victory, she's just under 2,000 points behind and you get that for winning a grand slam.

Just to confirm I wasn't speaking out of turn, http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/page/RankingsSingles/0,,12781~0~1~100,00.html

For me the screaming or grunting or whatever you want to call it isn't the issue.  It's the fact that the game is all about a powerful serve these days.  Nobody seems to be really interested in playing tennis anymore, certainly since Henin retired.  It's just a case of standing on the baseline and blasting your opponent out of it.  It makes for very dull watching.   

@ Meg

I laughed my ass off when I read that bat comment.  Nice one :) 

@ marcia

The rankings are decided based on a system of points which are alloted to each player based on their performance in the tournaments they participate in.  Safina is ranked #1 at the moment because, whilst she is undoubtedly not the best player in the world, she's played a very solid year.  Serena Willliams has struggled with injury this year, which has prevented her from playing as much as Safina.  And Venus hasn't played as well as she is capable of this year.  So, while I appreciate that racism is a very serious issue, it's certainly not at work in the Williams' respective rankings.  

edited to add: clearly I took way too long writing that essay of a post and somebody else said it for me.  Sigh.  I'll have to work on my wpm..

Okay, I will admit that I am not a Serena fan, never have been and I really don't think I ever will be.  I was a fan of Venus in her younger days though.

Serena's t-shirt is ridiculous, I'm sorry SD for once I have to disagree with you and she won't come close to 24.  She's notorious for spouting crap and excuses and she is a sore looser.  She has underachieved, I believe that she could have been one of the best the game has ever seen but injuries (or poor conditioning) has prevented her from that and has relied on her natural abilities instead of working with it to become a major powerhouse in the game. 

Do I think she had the ability to surpass the greats like Steffi?  Damn right I do, and I was pretty worried about it in the beginning of her career because she did get in the way many times of my personal favorite Jennifer Capriati's comeback.

I love an outspoken female athlete, I think it's good for the game and good for women everywhere to have a voice.  But the shreaking and whining has never helped either.  And if she does make it close to 24, I'll say it's due to semi-weak competition in the women's game as of recently.

For the record, I also think that Venus would have more win's against her sister.  I think she's a huge competitor, but being an older sister myself, I think there have been games that she didn't play to her full potential because of her relationship with Serena.

The WTA ranking system is based on points and tournament play for the year. Part of being a power player means more injuries. This is why Hingis was able to maintain the number one ranking for so long while she was playing. She had a low risk game (physically) and rarely got injured and therefore played incessantly, accumulating points. The power vs non-power player dynamic is an interesting one because I would think that the players with a physically taxing style of play would dwindle out and retire faster. But instead we have Hingis gone, Henin gone, Clijsters gone. I just find it funny that a lot of the Williams contemporaries have retired but they are still around, basicially carrying women's tennis on their backs at this point.

Here is a quote from an ESPN article

"This obviously rankles Williams, who was a touch catty on the subject after winning at Wimbledon for the first time in six years. She was asked if she was motivated to regain her No. 1 ranking.

"I'm not super motivated," Williams said. "I think if you hold three Grand Slam titles maybe you should be No. 1, but not on the WTA Tour obviously, so … my motivation is maybe just to win another Grand Slam and stay No. 2, I guess."

Is it a disappointment not to be No. 1?

"No," she said. "If it did, I would go crazy just thinking about it. I think anyone really could. That's just shocking. But whatever. It is what it is. I'd rather definitely be No. 2 and hold three Grand Slams in the past year than be No. 1 and not have any."

This, of course, was a shot at Safina -- the same Safina who was waxed by sister Venus 6-1, 6-0 here in the semifinals. In May, Serena proclaimed herself as the true No. 1 and Safina was drawn into a chippy back and forth."

Link to the full article 

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/wimbledon09/columns/story?column...

"Come On Then Get These Good Done Debbies"

Safina is bigger than Serena. And she has a temper. I think Serena would be well-advised not to throw words at Safina. Lol. You know the ones that have the most to say are the wimpiest.

Demetieva was at match point in that Semi match!!!

If I had been her at the end of the game having lost it, I would have just smacked my head against the locker room door until I knocked myself out. I mean, what a missed opportunity to get to the Wimbledon Final for the first time in her career!! 

That semi was a rare good competative match to watch on the women's side all tournament! The rest were average to ok for me.

He who overcomes himself is divine. Most see their ruin before their eyes; but they go on in to it. - Leopold Von Ranke.

so what she's "cocky" but she can back it up. Look at Laila Ali, she talked about as much trash as her father and she finished her career undefeated. Some athletes run their mouth more than others, but if they are good then you can't deny it. I like Gina Carano b/c she doesn't talk trash, and can kick butt. Like when Kelly Kobald said that she wanted to "go in and break something beautiful"Gina's response was a laugh and "she called me beautiful." At the same time I liked Ali b/c she did run her mouth and could back it up.

Talk smack just be sure to back it up.

"Come On Then Get These Good Done Debbies"

Agh, they're both cocky jerks. One of the first matches I ever saw Venus play, it may have even been a final. She was playing Martina Hingis (not my favorite player either). After the first game, and then on each odd game you switch sides. Well, on one of the switchovers Venus just didn't move over, she basically went out of her way to bump Hingis.

And make no mistake about it, the screaming, from all of the women, it's not done because they're expending engergy. If anyone watched the Marathon of a match between two real tennis players Andy Roddick and Roger Federer they were in like.... the equivilant of set seven or eight and not a grunt between them. The screaming (because that's what it is) is a tactic to throw your opponet off, and sure, it may not be enough against the rules that any ump enforces it, but Tennis, like golf is a gentlewoman's game. Those unwritten rules should practically be the first thing that whoever the hell is teaching you teaches you. Two people should be able to play a fair game, Without, any ump there and have it turn out with almost exactly the same score as one with an ump.

And that's my problem with the Williams sisters (and especially their father as well). As someone who's mother plays tennis, who's grandmother plays tennis, who has played tennis since she was three I know the 'unwritten rules', and as much as these two are good when it comes to strokes and serves, they suck when it comes to the human decency side of the game. You don't take strategically placed bathroom breaks, or try to bump hips with your opponent on a change over, or scream like you're being poked. You just don't.

Ah yes, I will admit, it probably also pisses me off that they're basically just cruising on their natural skills. Billy Jean King had the great quote. The ending's the important part. "if they are willing to pay the full price." Roger Federer was willing to pay the full price, same with Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, hell, people like Conchieta Martinez, Mauresmo, or, do you know how many times Lindsey Davenport came back from injuries just to win her three grand slam titles (US, Wimbledon, Australian) or how long it took for Jana Novotna just to win her one Wimbledon.

So yeah, it's more than just arrogance, though that is the tip of their iceberg.

But, they'll keep doing what they're doing, and I'll keep skipping any and all matches that has the both of them in it. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll be in the same bracket for the US Open. I know I'm hopin' and prayin'....

Yawn!

It's no coincidence that Serena's 'rededication' to the game coincided with Justine Henin's retirement.Simple fact of the matter is while Henin was at the top, Serena won 3 majors in 5 years. Without Henin in the game, Serena has won 3 majors in 1 1/2 years. It doesn't take a genius to see the connection.Henin was a better player than Serena, had a more artful game with more dimensions to it and was capable of absorbing Serena's power and turning it back against her. Also, unlike all of the other 'top' girls apart from Venus, Justine Henin could actually move on the court. Sharapova, Safina, Ivanovic, et al can generate the power but watching them move is like watching a dinosaur dance on ice. Dementieva and Kuznetsova can move but one has the world's least reliable serve and the other has a dodgy temperament.

Quite simply, what we're seeing in women's tennis today is one of the most slickly marketed but weakest eras in the last thirty years in the game's history. The best player has retired and the second best is so much better than the rest of the pack it's laughable.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/sports/us-open-historic-television-r...

Those links of the ratings is a perfect example of how they are good for the sport by turning casual viewers into potential fans. Similar to how Tiger helps ratings for golf, Lance helped ratings for his sport, Candace helps ratings for womens basketball, Lebron and Kobe help ratings for the NBA, Brock Lesanar and Gina Carano help boost ratings for MMA, etc. Love them or hate them these people are good for the sport b/c they up the ratings, which means more money, etc, etc, etc.

"Come On Then Get These Good Done Debbies"

Pah. Serena has a nice smile and strong arms. Her game is far from beautiful. I don't care about her titles or her fashion. Her game is like German soccer. Effective, yes, but not ellegant.

Ana Ivanovic is pretty though. (ye, I know, her game is weak)

Roger won against a very strong Roddick. That's really more important. He is fashion-crazy and has a beautiful game. And oh boy, Nike made him look really ugly this year..