|
THE
SCOOP: U.S. OPEN, DAY 12
Williams
vs. Williams: Mom says expect slam-bam tennis
By
Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net
 |
|
Susan
Mullane
Camerawork USA, Inc.
|
FLUSHING
MEADOWS, N.Y., SEPT. 7 – About
a half hour after Venus Williams had torn apart Jennifer Capriati,
6-4, 6-2, to earn herself a marquee match-up with her sister,
Serena, in Saturday's U.S. Open final, Oracene Williams, the mother
of two best players in Compton history and without question the
most impressive performers at this U.S.
Open, sat casually in a stuffed chair in the players lounge reminiscing
about her daughters last two years on tour.
Oracene
wondered whether or not her remarkable daughters would be able
to
bring out their best yellowball in a Grand Slam final. In their
five previous matches, Venus and Serena haven't come close to
producing the level that they do against other non-family foes.
"They
should know how to play each other," Oracene said. "I
don't think
they'll think about exectuiton. I hope they just play the ball
and bring out
their best tennis. I know they can bring out hard-hitting, Slam-Bam
tennis.
It could happen, but it's tough. It's just like every Super Bowl."
Oracene
said that the most memoable battle royales the sisters have engaged
in have been in practice."The ones no one has seen are the
best," she said.
"They are getting to balls that I don't know how they got
to them. They were
hitting returns that made me say, 'My God.'"
Venus
and Serena are best friends and stick together like identical
twins,
finishing each other's sentences, going everywhere together, putting
a hand
on the other's shoulder when the other is down. But Oracene said
that as they
have become women, they are no longer so dependent on each other
emotionally.
"They
used to be but they're not so much anymore," Oracene said.
"They're
doing their own things. They make their own decisions."
Oracene
harkened back to 1999, when Martina Hingis made Venus cramp in
the
semis and Serena became the first sister to win a Slam title here.
"Venus
had to stop playing around and play tennis," Oracene said.
"It was a
wake-up call. That's what I told her after the first time she
came out here
in the final [in 1997 when she lost to Hingis], stop playing around.
Serena
didn't go out like that. She wasn't going to go out there lying
on the
ground. Venus had to find herself."
And
Venus did, winning three Slam titles since that time. Now Serena
needs to
step up and during this fortnight, she certainly has. On Friday,
she blew out
Hingis for the first time in her career, making the little Swiss
appear to
be, well, very tiny and very weak.
"They
feed on each other," Oracene said. "Serena fed on Venus
when she turned
pro. She saw how Venus came up the ranks because she had a pattern
to
follow. Serena made a new pattern for Venus after Serena won here."
SERENA
TURNS AROUND LOUSY YEAR
Oracene
traces Serena's lousy year until August to the simple fact that
Serena was having a blast being 19."She was having fun in
life, being a
teenager," she said. "She had to come to an understanding
what was happening
to her tennis by herself. … I don't tell them everything because
they learn
in life. They have to figure it out themselves. I brought them
up to be
independent. Because I don't want them coming to me for everything."
After
Serena lost her title in Manhattan Beach a month ago when she
lost in
the quarters to Monica Seles, Oracene sensed a change." Serana
called me and
said, "I'm coming home. Can I come home?' I can't take this
anymore. She came
home and left and the went to Toronto and won the title."
So
which sister is going to be more tense when they walk out for
their prime
time final tomorrow?
"It
may be harder for Serena because she wants it really bad,"
Oracene said.
"Venus is just defending."
Can
Serena become the first sister in 10 tries to take down an older
sibling
at a Slam. Oracene says maybe.
"It's
a mental things cause you looked up to your older sister who watched
over you," she said. "I was the older sister and I know
I could beat my
younger sister anytime I wanted to. For the younger sister to
win, she would
really have to work hard or I might say, here, give it to me."
|
