Serena Williams in the midst of her rage
Another US Open, another Serena Williams stage-stealing controversy. Two years and three days on from threatening to shove a ball down the throat of line judge Shino Tsurubuchi after being called for that infamous foot fault, the younger Williams sister yet again finds herself fined for letting her tongue lose on another match official.
Deja vu.
US Open referee Bill Earley, afforded hardly a moment's peace thanks to earthquake, hurricane, plague, and player revolt, decided to hand the multi-Slam champ a $2,000 fine for Serena's visceral comments towards umpire Eva Asderaki during last night's final against Sam Stosur. There were rumours of possible grand slam suspension, but the authorities decided to play soft rather than hard ball. Tennis fans are unlikely to be so generous.
As the New York Times' Chris Clarey put it, could anyone but Serena come back from her deathbed, reach the US Open final and still somehow not end up a clear sentimental favorite?
Admittedly, as with the foot fault, Serena was on the wrong end of a tough decision. There is no argument that her scream of 'Come On' was uttered before the ball, a thumping forehand, had touched Sam Stosur's racket. Where fact and speculation depart is over whether it was intentional, and thus calculated to help win her the point, or not. If it was the former, then the umpire's decision to award a penalty was correct. If it was the latter, the point should have been replayed.
Clarifying the situation with the umpire in a rather aggressive fashion was understandable. But where Serena was unquestionably wrong, was what happened next. Marching to the net to gesture at the umpire after winning the next point was not clever. Calling her "a hater," "unattractive inside" and "a loser" on the changeover, and essentially warning her to stay out of her way, was even less so. She let her mouth rather than brain take over. And sadly, given her past history, she should know better.
Players get frustrated when decisions go against them. Of course they do. And who can blame them. Umpires know this. "It's not a personal attack on me as a person," one said to me at the Australian Open this year – "it's just because I'm the umpire. It's part of the job." And, so by and large, the players get away with it. Andy Roddick for example, has spoken his mind rather more ferociously than he should on many an occasion.
The head-against-a-brick-wall thing about Serena is that she can behave so well. She can be hilariously charming, revealing, fascinating. Remember that press conference in Stanford? Hello Kitty backpack in tow, she had press and public enraptured over something as simple as a love of mexican food. Her return to the game was welcomed with open arms, a sentiment that has lasted all the way up to last night's final, Kardashian wedding-going aside.
The other point worth making is that where last night's incident differs from the one two years ago is that it was not a match-winning or match-ending point. The last point penalty handed Kim Clijsters a face in the US Open final. There was far more at stake. This time, the decision had the opposite effect – it amped Serena up. It made her play better. It did not lose her the title.
And she knew that too.
She even partially redeemed herself by going to sit with Sam ahead of the presentation ceremony. Who knows what they talked about, but it certainly looked good. "It shows you what a nice person she is that she can separate the result," Stosur said. "Pretty classy."
But then Serena ruined it again with one of the most obfusticating press conferences she has delivered in years. Avoiding the subject with a defence akin to Chris Taveray's, her answers revealed absolutely nothing. No regret, no remorse, no explanation.
"I don't even remember what I said," she said. " It was just so intense out there. It's the final for me, and I was just – I have to go – I guess I'll see it on YouTube. I don't know (Laughter.) I don't know. I was just in the zone. I think everyone, when they play, they kind of zone out kinda thing. I don't know, I'll see it later, I'm sure."
She said "I don't know" a lot.
Especially when asked whether as one of the most well-known tennis players in the world, she should set a good example and treat officials with respect.
"Um, I don't know. I think that, you know, when you're an athlete, whether you're looking at a basketball player or football player or tennis players, these athletes, we train all our lives since I was three – and I lie about my age a lot, but I'm 29. (Smiling). You know, we live for these moments, you know. Everyone lives to be, you know, in the final of Wimbledon or the final at the US Open. Whatever happens in that moment, you live for them and we breathe for them, and hopefully I'll be back for them."
The sad thing for Serena is that all this hullabaloo detracts from what she has achieved by even being in yesterday's final. "It was pretty close," she said during her acceptance speech last night. None of us really know how close.
And at some point, something will happen, something will come along to remind us again why tennis needs Serena Williams. As Stosur said, she has done great things for the sport. But this was not one of them.
