Richard Williams Isn't Happy
There's probably only one person in the world who wasn't impressed with Venus Williams thoroughly swift dispatch of Ana Ivanovic. Her dad.
“I don’t think she played that great today,” said Richard Williams. “The second serve wasn’t doing anything. Venus wasn’t turning. She wasn’t meeting the serve return. She hit too many serves out.”
But Mr. Williams, she won 6-4, 6-2 against the no. 4 player in the world.
“Sometimes tennis scores doesn’t reflect how a person plays. In my opinion, Venus played bad.”
What was the difference then?
“[Ivanovic] outplayed Venus, she just didn’t play the key points well,”
He had kind things to say about Ana.
“Keep in mind, she’s 19”, he said. “She got to the finals of the French. She probably needs a little more experience because she hits well, she plays well, she’s not moving that bad. She played a lot better than Venus.”
Perhaps it's a motivation technique, maybe it's something we're all missing, but what will it take for the quarterfinals-bound Venus to play better?
“If Venus wants to win this tournament she’ll not only have to play key points well, she’ll have to play the other points better.”
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Richard Williams is crazy (certifiable, really), but he isn't stupid. He's understandably wary of Venus's increasing visibility as "the favorite" in this tournament and knows all too well the attendant perils. He'd have been perfectly content to have her sneak up on the field as was the case at Wimbledon. Venus is running a bit too hot for his liking.
Ivanovic moving well?
Besides that comment, I think Father Richard might be on to something. However, it speaks to her talent and superiority, that even at 50% she beat the shiznit out of the world's No. 5--easily.
Look out.
What was Dick Enberg doing, musing about the aesthetic merits of Ana Ivanovic, who's young enough to be his great-granddaughter? Ugh! Dick, quit worrying about 19-year-olds and turn your attention to more pressing needs like shrinking your prostate or achieving a solid bowel movement.
Totally disagree with Richard Williams. I think he wants Serena to win and is trying to psych Venus out. That family caters to Serena and Venus goes along with it. After her last match, Venus talked about "a Williams" winning. In contrast, Serena always talks about wanting herself to win. I wish Venus would look out for herself and go for the win.