Monday, May 23, 2005
And So it Begins: The End For Serena?
Extra, extra, read all about it! Serena Williams has withdrawn from the French Open. Gee, what a surprise. (Can you hear the sarcasm in my voice?)
After successfully completing another major tournament in Australia in January, all the media outlets were chirping like birds in spring. "Serena is back," or so they thought. You couldn't find one paper or magazine that didn't doubt that this time, Serena is back and wants to regain her top ranking and form. Well, except for me.
Let's face it, I've never been a Williams fan. So anything I say here I admit must be taken with that in mind. But let's be realistic, the Williams have never really given you anything to honestly cheer about. Yes, Venus and Serena are great players, and one-day Hall-of-Famers. Yes, they can be the most dominant force in tennis.
Serena shocked everyone by winning in Australia without playing a warm-up tournament and without much intense practice. While not unheard of, typically high-level professional athletes don't win major prizes without much practice or pre-tournament play. It wasn't exactly a cakewalk, but Serena showed that pound for pound, she is the best player on the women's tour. That is, when she wants to be.
I'm not going to ponder why she withdrew from the French, nor do I care. In truth, while injuries are the "reason," it's just as much a lack of interest. She hasn't really played all that much, and she hasn't trained as hard as she needs to. I know that there are those of you out there who will try to crucify me for stating the obvious, but tough.
2005 is the beginning of the end. Venus will hang about a year or two longer, but Serena is gone by Christmas, probably for good. Then we will all be beaten to death by Aneres fashions. We will see her on every tour stop with a pre-tournament fashion show. Then we will see Serena on TV or in the movies. Some banana-head studio exec is going to actually believe she can act (for me, the jury is still out) and try to cash in on her supposed "celebrity." Interestingly, without tennis, that celebrity will die, and a quick death at that.
Even Anna Kournikova is beginning to understand that. Anna is not a model, and no one treats her like a supermodel. No matter what she does, or where she goes, the word tennis is still associated with her.
I'm growing tired of reading about Serena. Was she really that good? We'll never really know. My favorite Swiss Miss (why, oh why did you leave me, Martina [Hingis]?) left the game too early. She had the gifts and talent to consistently go head-to-head with the banger sisters, but wasn't willing to put the work in to finish off her darn near complete tennis game. If she has pulled out the win at the Aussie against Jennie Cap that last time, maybe she would still be with us.
No, Martina didn't leave because of the power. Monica Seles hits as hard or harder than Serena and Venus. Heck, it ain't the second serve, either, as Ken Rosewall was a great champ without a power serve, and Elena Dementieva still beats great opponents even though her second serve is somewhere between non-existent and pathetic. Hingis could beat Dementieva in her sleep, still today.
So, Serena takes some more time off. Bet we see her dresses at some Paris fashion event during the tournament. And I bet we see her working on her other careers. Paris is one heck of a place to do it.
As I said, "so it begins..." Let's just see how long Serena stays around. My guess is not long. And that is just fine with me. See ya, Serena. It's been nice knowing you. Just do me and the rest of the tennis world a favor. Don't let the door hit you...