Sep 06 2007
Snippish Serena or Just Human Nature?
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NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The American media turned on Serena Williams on Wednesday, labelling the former world number one as “classless” and “graceless” after her sullen reaction to her U.S. Open exit at the hands of Justine Henin.
Top seed Henin beat the American 7-6 6-1 in the quarter-finals for the third consecutive grand-slam event on Tuesday but a despondent Williams gave the Belgian scant praise.
“I just think she made a lot of lucky shots and I made a lot of errors,” Williams said at her news conference.
“I really don’t feel like talking about it. It’s like I don’t want to get fined. That’s the only reason I came. I can’t afford to pay the fines because I keep losing.”
Players who fail to appear for post-match news conferences face fines from tennis officials.
Williams’s words and manner were greeted with widespread disdain.
“(Williams) met the media afterward like a rattlesnake meets a ground squirrel,” wrote Bill Dwyer, in the Los Angeles Times.
“If anybody was expecting perspective afterward, or maybe a gracious nod to a better effort by an opponent, forget it. We had sullen Serena. Snippy Serena. Snarly Serena.”
You want to know what I think about this? Well you’re reading my blog so I assume you do. I think this is something that is being blown out of proportion. I mean really, she lost. How do expect a person to give you “tremendous” insight to the match? Weren’t you there watching? Can’t you figure out the gist of what happened without having to harass the athlete?
That’s basically what this boils down to, expecting a little too much from athletes. You have to remember that the majority of these athletes (no matter the sport) are there for the love of the game and or the money. Having a mandatory press conference afterwards even for the loser is just rubbing salt into an open wound. For those who love the game or playing for money, the loss has to be humiliating or at least painful and here you [the press] are expecting them to be graceful and pliant to your every question that must feel like a stab through the heart. Guess what, they’re only human and if they would rather not talk about their loss and say so then leave it be.
