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| Europe | |
| Sobbing Serena booed by French | |
| 2003-06-06 | |
| Not strictly WoT, Fred, but evidence that some racist and xenophobic French are finding the finer points of rapprochement hard to grasp... Serena Williams broke down in tears last night after being booed at the end of her semi-final at the French Open. The world number one was given a hostile reception as she was knocked out of the championships in Paris by Justine Henin-Hardenne, of Belgium, in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Gosh, it's almost like 1936 again. Am I over-reacting? Perhaps. Williams was booed every time she questioned a call, even when justified, and, towards the end, every first serve she missed was greeted by loud cheers. Defeat not only cost her the title she won last year but ended her run of four consecutive Grand Slam titles. "I'm not used to crying but it's a little difficult," said the 21-year-old, whose elder sister Venus went out earlier in the tournament. She said she did not believe the crowd's reaction was the result of anti-American feeling in France. "Sometimes they just want the underdog to win," she added. And, usually, it seems, the American to lose. After initially denying that the crowd had made it harder for her, she stopped and added: "That's a lie, it does make it harder. I just have to be a little stronger next time." Williams, who side-stepped a suggestion that race might also have been a factor, said: "All my life I've had to fight and this is just another fight I have to win. She said she would return to her home in Florida to work on her serve. "I enjoy the challenge and I look forward to my next tournament at Wimbledon."
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| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #9 she'll be back. and i love her comment "i just have to be a little stronger next time." with that attitude, she'll definitely be back. |
| Posted by: (lowercase) matt 2003-06-06 16:15:15 |
| #8 Hey, look at the bright side....there are bound to be a few reversals when you wrestle with weasels. They fight dirty, you know....... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-06-06 15:23:47 |
| #7 It's unfortunate that it happened, but all I have to do is think about all the ass that she and Lance have kicked in France, and I smile again. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2003-06-06 13:56:14 |
| #6 That was me above, btw. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-06-06 08:54:53 |
| #5 I'd forgotten her earlier observations. I guess it's just that good ol' McCarthyism at work again.. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-06-06 08:51:26 |
| #4 Yeah, I don't think she could have expected a warm welcome after such an attitude. I believe there were several more Americans taking part in the French Open. (Venus Williams, Meghann Shaughnessy, Monica Seles) Any indication whatsoever *those* people were booed? In short, it's probably not because of her nationality *or* her race. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2003-06-06 08:32:35 |
| #3 Go get 'em Lance.... |
| Posted by: ----------<<<<-- 2003-06-06 08:27:12 |
| #2 I suppose it was because of this: Williams certainly did not endear herself to Paris with the comments she made in March. Asked about anti-French feeling in the United States, a snickering Williams mimicked a French accent and said: "Well, we don't want to play in the war. We want to make clothes. We don't want the war." |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2003-06-06 07:36:16 |
| #1 I don't follow tennis *at all*, so it may very well have eluded me, but I don't remember getting much mention of booing in the news. That's really low, especially when you add the fact that tennis-goers are supposed to be the "classiest" sport fans around, given their middle-class-and-above base. Still, our PC-obsessed media may have been furthermore embarassed by the idea of an overhelmingly white crowd cheering over the defeat of a black foreign athlete; sometimes, keeping one's moral highground above the Racists, Chauvinists Americans (Tm) is not that easy. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-06-06 06:09:38 |