The Devil Inside

My daughter would go to war for Serena Williams.  In fact, nothing would give Clare greater pleasure than to share a foxhole with Williams.  I can only imagine the lobs sent across enemy lines.

All of which is to say Clare is taking Williams’ side in the controversial US Opens’ final match last weekend.  Twenty-year old Naomi Osaka gave the 36-year old Williams more than she could handle, which could explain why Serena lost her temper; as to why the chair umpire felt the need to issue three code violations costing Williams first a point and then a game, only he knows for sure.  Williams demanded to know why she was being penalized for acting the same as male players, who escape penalty for their behavior.  Regardless the sport, umpires do not need to explain themselves.

I like the perspective Martina Navratilova offered to the contretemps.  Writing an op-ed in the NYT, Navratilova said the real question should be, “What is the right way to behave to honor our sport and to respect our opponents?”  The four-time US Open champion admitted there were many times when she “wanted to break my racquet into a thousand pieces.  [Williams was assesed a point for breaking her racquet while playing Osaka.]  Then I thought about the kids watching,” and she kept on playing.

Williams has always had a temper; it comes with the territory of being an athlete.  I remember one time a certain college freshman was seething after a game in which she just missed a homerun in her first at-bat [settling for a double off the wall in dead centerfield at a stadium once used by the Chicago Bandits] and pressed the rest of the game.  When her father told her to relax, she poked him in the ribs with her bat and told him to go away.  She wouldn’t do that now, I think.

And Williams, to her everlasting credit, accepted the role of gracious loser at the end.  A decidedly pro-Serena crowd had started booing the results.  Serena told them it was time to give credit where it was due and “let’s not boo anymore.”  She also put her arm around Osaka.  That’s how an athlete triumphs over defeat.