Venus Williams demolished world No.1 Dinara Safina 6-1 6-0 in Wimbledon semifinals, but in press-conference the American seven-time Grand Slam champion showed great respect for her opponent, and defended both the Russian and the state of women’s tennis in general.
Here’s an extract from the interview:
Q. This isn’t your fault obviously because you played really well, but it’s embarrassing for women’s tennis to see the No. 1 destroyed in that way, isn’t it?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Why do you put it like that?
Q. You played very well.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Are you trying to be down on women’s tennis?
Q. I’m trying to be down on the way that Safina is the world No. 1 representing women’s tennis.
VENUS WILLIAMS: So you’re trying to be down basically.
Q. Not on women’s tennis, no.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Okay, because I don’t deal with down at all.
Q. It’s not down.
VENUS WILLIAMS: I’m just making sure you’re not trying to be down, because I respect Dinara Safina immensely, and I think you should, too.
Q. I do.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Thanks.
One more think that could defend Safina is that Venus was playing on grass, her favorite surface, which is not Dinara’s favorite surface. On clay, Dinara was the winner over Venus, this year in Rome, in three sets though.
This is why I prefer Venus over Serena anyday. Guess who made a sarcastic comment on the WTA Rankings? Well well well, no other than her Venus’s sister.
“I think if you hold three Grand Slam titles maybe you should be No.1, but not on the WTA Tour obviously, so… You know, my motivation is maybe just to win another Grand Slam and stay No.2, I guess. I’d rather definitely be No.2 and hold three Grand Slams in the past year than be No. 1 and not have any.
“I think the girl, Dinara, who is No.1, you can clearly see by her physique how hard she works. You can’t get anywhere by not doing the best and not working your hardest. So, you know, I’m happy for her. I’m really excited that I won Wimbledon, though, because, like I said, I’d rather win that than not win the Championships.”
Not to mention — this is the second time.
The way Serena put it “I think Dinara did a great job to get to No. 1. She won Rome and Madrid (laughter),” I have to say made me laugh as well. Haha. But I prefer Venus’ style much much more.
The Wimbledon is just around the corner and everyone seems to be looking forward to this event. I am reading the book called “100 Sporting Events You Must See Live” by Robert Tuchman and the Wimbledon is ranked at number 11 on his list.
Matthew Rosenbaum, definitely. Wimbledon is so classy and special. I would love to visit it, even though it rains. 😛
Hmm, Wimbly is a big lure for me as I live in the UK. However I decided to go for a more low-key but still good Eastbourne which is also very well-run tournament and even though it’s small it’s quite star-studded. I will go there to watch QF and hopefully will be able to take some pics of Kim. Can’t wait.
Marine, don”t forget to share your pics with us! 😉
This is one of the reasons I respect Venus so much. She is always so classy, even with defeats, and lets the other players have their moments of glory. This is what women’s tennis should always be like.