Kim, Not Serena, Is The Real Story

By Sandra Harwitt

I’m guessing there’s no choice but to discuss the Serena Williams tirade from last night because it is all the news today. In fact, the men’s semifinals have taken place and all anyone is talking about, writing about, is the Serena incident.

In case someone has been out-of-touch the last 24 hours, a brief synopsis.

Serena is serving at 5-6 in the second set when at 15-30 she was called for a second serve double fault, which put the score at 15-40. Ouch! Serena, who had already been called out for racket abuse in the first set, went off on the linesperson, yet to be identified by anyone. She got into it, cursing at the lineswoman, telling her she’d like to put the ball down her throat with the use of a few f-bombs along the way. Tournament referee Brian Earley came on the court, Serena was assessed a penalty point – the next step after her warning for the racket abuse – and since the score was 15-40 the loss of the point put the match in Kim Clijsters hands.

There are those who say she did foot fault, others who say she didn’t. I was sitting in the front row right behind umpire Louise Engzell with a few colleagues and we could not see it clearly. The footage was somewhat inconclusive. Some would say that the lineswoman shouldn’t call a foot fault at such a stage in the match, especially if it’s a second serve. Others would say, the rules are the rules and if she foot faulted she should be called on it.

All of that are somewhat irrelevant points when it comes down to whether Serena handled herself appropriately during the incident. The answer is clear, she did not. She used abusive language towards an official. She was in the lineswoman’s face with the ball. She was waving her racket at the woman. This is unacceptable and unprofessional behavior and should not be allowed. Period!

As I said earlier today when the BBC World Service Radio, who’ve I’ve worked with in the past, contacted me for an interview, Serena went on damage control immediately in the post-match press conference, saying she accepts playing by the rules, Kim was playing better, and that’s the way it went. She wouldn’t say that she believes an apology was in order to the lineswoman.

Here’s the lowdown result of the incident. Serena’s been fined $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and $500 for racket abuse – that’s a grand total of $10,500. That’s just about petty cash for Serena, who earned $350.000 here at the U.S. Open, and will also post still to be determined earnings in the doubles – she’ll pair with sister, Venus, for the doubles crown on Monday.

“That’s a joke, it’s an embarrassment,” said Mary Carillo, on air as a comment to the levied fine.

Here is the statement that Serena released this afternoon about the incident.

“Last night everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job. Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I don't agree with the unfair line call, in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly. I would like to thank my fans and supporters for understanding that I am human and I look forward to continuing the journey, both professionally and personally, with you all as I move forward and grow from this experience.”

How about a more pointed mention of the lineswoman that she was freaking out on – that would have gone down a little better was the general sentiment here in the press room.

The one I felt for at the time was Kim Clijsters, who was confused by the whole scene and just wanted to win the match by playing all the points necessary.

In the end, though, it is the remarkable Kim Clijsters who was the real story and that's the way it should be.

Nothing should and will change that from being the truth, but it would’ve been so much nicer for her if Serena held her cool and she could’ve won the semifinal the old-fashioned way. She did win the title the old-fashioned way when she outplayed first-time Grand Slam finalist Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday night.

The victory brought tears to her Clijsters eyes along with a smile of disbelief.

While it wasn’t a great final in terms of quality of tennis, the fact that Clijsters, who is only playing in her third tournament back since she retired in 2007 to get married and have a family, and needed a wildcard to get into the main draw, is incredible. The last time Clijsters played at the U.S. Open was in 2005 when she won a Grand Slam title for the only time in the first stage of her career. And to think she doesn't even have a ranking yet because she hasn't played enough tournaments, but should be ranked around the top 20 when the new rankings emerged.

Interestingly, it took Clijsters four tries in Grand Slam finals before she won her first U.S. Open crown. Now it’s taken her only three tournaments back after two years away to win her second major. I say, incredible again!

That’s the only way to describe what the Belgian’s achieved.
Clijsters always loved competing, but she almost approached her first career as if it was a hobby. Now she has it all – the husband, the baby, and can play tennis with passion and abandon.

Kim’s the first mother since Evonne Goolagong Cawley to win a Grand Slam title – the Aussie did the deed a long time ago at Wimbledon in 1980. It’s like Clijsters is telling women around the world who want everything, that it is possible.

Clijsters made the award ceremony a family affair when hubby, Brian Lynch, who played basketball at Villanova, and 18-month-old daughter, Jada, held court on the court. The photographers loved it -- a family portrait and a adorable toddler toddling about,grabbing at the trophy, and putting on a show.

A story like this only comes around so often. I absolutely couldn’t imagine it happening to a more warm and wonderful person. The tennis world will benefit by having such a sensational athlete back in their midst.

FORMER CHAMPION JACK KRAMER PASSES AWAY

The tennis world bids good-bye to 1968 Hall of Famer Jack Kramer, 88, who passed away last night at his home in Los Angeles. Kramer, a Wimbledon and U.S. National champion in his day, was the top-ranked player in the world in the late 1940s. Kramer was a founder of the Association of Tennis Professionals, which is the forerunner of today’s ATP Tour. Kramer’s son, Bob, runs the men’s summer tournament in Los Angeles.

U.S. OPEN HISTORY FOR SEPTEMBER 13

In 1981, Bjorg Borg plays his last ever U.S. Open match, in which he lost a four-set final to John McEnroe. He never wins the U.S. Open and that match result basically drove the Swede from the game.

In 1998, Patrick Rafter wins his second consecutive U.S. Open title over fellow Aussie Mark Philippousis. Rafter would never win another Grand Slam title, although he was a finalist at Wimbledon.