More than a Foot Fault

I'm a huge women's tennis fan. And people often ask me why I don't always, automatically pull for the Williams sisters, who are undoubtedly the best American players -- if not the best players, period. Last night illustrates exactly why.

Serena was wrong six ways to Sunday. It was embarrassing and shocking to watch. I was ashamed for her -- and for the United States.

I'm confused as to why there's any discussion about whether the point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct was appropriate. Of course it was. Her behavior was atrocious. It crossed the line about four different times. Shaking her racket at the line judge she said, "If I could, I'd take this ball and shove it down your f***ing throat." And so on, and so on. Is this venom what we expect from our most celebrated ladies champions?

Sure, McEnroe and Connors used to do this and worse. (McEnroe was noticeably lacking in commentary during the flare-up last night.) But it's no excuse. That's not behavior to emulate. And, to be honest, we expect more from the women.

This is the reason I love Clijsters and Henin and Davenport: they're all spectacular players and they are gracious as well. They kick ass on the court and let their performance do the talking for them. They don't talk trash about their opponents or make offensive comments, as Serena once did when she referred to the Russian players en masse as "the -ovas." They don't scream and grandstand obnoxiously after most big points like Serena does. Of course she's a spectacular player. Her speed and strength and pure skill are often breathtaking. But she's never been a very good sport.

After the match was called, Serena gave a press conference that was almost as damning as her verbal assault. She didn't take responsibility for her behavior. She didn't admit she was wrong. She claimed -- unconvincingly -- that she didn't even remember what she'd said. When asked if she wished she had handled herself differently, she answered: no. She prefers to live in the moment, she explained, and not to look back. just 20 minutes later, she'd already let the entire matter go. (I bet the shaking linesperson hadn't.) She also implied that other players have done worse and gotten away with it. For some reason, the officials are always tougher on her.

Oh, and she admitted she probably did foot fault after all. Her bad.

Finally, when asked if she would apologize to the line judge she bitched out, she said, "An apology for? From me?"

So, no, Serena wasn't robbed. Clijsters -- who wasn't able to enjoy winning that final point and celebrating a pure, honest and spectacular win to cap her comeback streak -- is the one who was robbed. Yesterday, I would've been proud to have been a Belgian.