|
|
|
| June 27, 2005 | Monday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1426 |
I should have stayed home, says sobbing Serena
LONDON, June 26: A sobbing Serena Williams could hardly dare to analyse her worst Wimbledon defeat in eight years. “I don’t want to answer that question now,” the American stated.
Tears filled her eyes and she clutched a borrowed handkerchief moments after a 6-3 7-6 loss to fellow American Jill Craybas on Saturday.
“The words that I can only use are all foul. It wouldn’t be proper for me to use those words,” she mumbled as she looked at her feet, a third-round loser at Wimbledon for only the second time in her career.
Twice champion and runner-up last year, Serena had not lost as early as the third round since her debut in 1998.
“Today I just... I didn’t do anything right,” she sniffed.
“I just kept making errors, so... I think I would have been better off staying home, to be honest. For sure.
“I was really off today and I didn’t play the way I normally can play. Even if I’m playing bad, I normally play better than this.”
Fourth seed Serena, who had been lined up to play elder sister and fellow twice champion Venus had little praise for her 85th-ranked opponent.
“I think she just got balls back. She didn’t do anything... she didn’t have to do anything exceptionally well today.
“She just pretty much had to show up and I couldn’t win a service game in the first set. Then it was just downhill,” she added before sobbing again.
“I need a tissue because my eyes are watering,” she said. “I’m just used to winning these kind of matches and it’s hard when you go out there and you can’t make a shot and you’ve been making them for years.”
Serena is backing Venus to wreak revenge.
“I think Venus is playing well here,” she said. “Obviously I’m not trying to be negative on my opponent or anything but I think Venus will pretty much win the next round and go from there.
“If I’m here, I’ll watch. If not, I don’t watch her on TV. I get too nervous.”
FERRERO TARGETS FEDERER
Ravaged by injuries and dispossessed of his number one ranking, Juan Carlos Ferrero could have plenty to grumble about.
But that is not the style of the Spaniard who won the French Open and topped the world in 2003.
He is determined to claw his way back into the elite and says Monday’s fourth-round clash against twice champion Roger Federer would provide the perfect launch-pad.
“Roger Federer is the biggest player on grass right now ... if I pass the fourth round, it will be the first time I’ll be in quarterfinals here,” he said.
“I came here playing really good this year. I start 90 in the ranking, (now) I’m 31.
“It’s very important to get the (ranking) points ... it’s a very important match.”
The 25-year-old finished 2004 out of the top 10 for the first time in five years after three consecutive top-10 finishes.
He missed the whole of March 2004 with chickenpox, most of April to recuperate and much of May after injuring his wrist and ribs in a fall.
He gave up his French Open title in the second round, lost in the third round here and then failed to win back-to-back matches for the rest of 2004.
He is convinced he can live with the best again, however.
“Why not? I did it one time, I can do it again,” he said. “I expect to end the year top 10 or top 12, something like this.”
Ferrero knows Federer will be an enormous mountain to climb.
“Roger, he’s playing so good on this surface ... of course, he’s favourite.
“But I’m playing good tennis here and I go with a lot of motivation. The last time I played against him, I had two match points on hard court (at Dubai in February). So if I play good, I think I have chances to fight on court.
“I am very motivated. He’s number one in the world, he’s won two Wimbledons in a row. You know, he’s Roger Federer.”
OLD RIVALRY
Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters will resume one of the most intriguing duels in tennis on Monday when they square up in the fourth round.
Davenport, the experienced American top seed, trails 9-7 in their head-to-head but won their last encounter, a three-set thriller at the French Open four weeks ago.
She had lost her six previous games against Clijsters but, on a clay surface that does not best suit her, recovered from a set and 3-1 down to win their fourth-round match 1-6 7-5 6-3.
They have played only once on grass before — in 2001 at Wimbledon when Davenport crushed the Belgian 6-1 6-2.
“I feel a lot better than I did at the French when I was barely winning matches and sets,” said 29-year-old Davenport.
The 1999 Wimbledon champion has dropped only eight games in reaching round four at the All England Club.
“I was very, very surprised personally to have won on clay of all surfaces against her. You never want to keep losing to somebody.
“Obviously Monday’s going to be a different story. Kim’s not going to let me do that so easily and will get more balls back and will really press me a lot more than I’ve pressed so far.”—Reuters
|
|
|
|
