Venus raps claims family fix all-Williams finals

 

By Angus MacKinnin, 4 Jul 2008 Angus MacKinnin is a Roar Rookie

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 press conference, venus williams, Wimbledon

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Venus Williams has hit out angrily at suggestions the outcome of a potential third Wimbledon final against sister Serena could be decided by anything other than who plays better today.

Previous finals between the two sisters have rarely added up to the sum of their combined talents, which has led to scepticism as to whether they have both been giving 100 percent at the same time, and even suggestions that the outcome of matches are pre-arranged.

The issue was given an additional stir today by Elena Dementieva, the woman Venus beat to book her final spot against either Serena or China’s Zheng Jie.

Speaking in English in her post-match press conference, the Russian said she felt the outcome of Saturday’s final was “going to be a family decision”.

It was not clear whether Dementieva intended to question the integrity of the sisters, but even the vaguest hint of family collusion over the result of a match rankled with Venus Williams.

“I find the question pretty offensive because I’m extremely professional in everything that I do on and off the court,” she said.

“I contribute my best in my sport, and I also have a ton of respect for myself and my family. So any mention of that is extremely disrespectful for who I am, what I stand for, and my family. That’s pretty much how I feel about the whole subject.”

The sisters have met 15 times before. Serena currently leads the series 8-7 but has emerged the winner on five of the six occasions the pair have met in Grand Slam finals, including the 2002 and 2003 finals here.

And Venus’s recollection of their first final meeting, at Key Biscayne in 1999, will hardly have reassured sceptics.

“I definitely wanted to win,” she recalled. “I think that my family wanted me to win because I was the older sister. So they thought I should win this title because I was older, and then Serena would have a chance after.

“Personally that’s what I felt. They didn’t say anything. There have been other times where I felt like they felt like, Serena hasn’t won, so it’s her turn to win.”

To this day, both Williams sisters refuse to play in the WTA tournament at Indian Wells, Florida — despite the event being considered one of the most prestigious on the tour outside of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Their boycott dates back to 2001, when Venus withdrew injured from a semi-final meeting with Serena just minutes before the match was due to start.

Serena was subsequently booed and jeered by the crowd during her final meeting with Kim Clijsters.