What could be better than the usual July 4th shtick of brats and beer?
Watching Venus and Serena Williams in their fourth sister-vs.-sister Wimbledon final in eight years, that’s what.
Sit back with a bowl of strawberries and whipped cream, and start taking bets. Serena won in 2002 and 2003, while Venus won in 2008. Perhaps she’s due another win, although Serena has a 6-5 advantage in Grand Slam meetings, including five wins against the seven she’s faced against her sister in finals.
Sitting on the couch in the middle of the summer, celebrating our nation’s independence watching the Williams sisters play their hearts out in England—that’s just fantastic.
I hope my swamp cooler holds out.
This article appears in Jul 2-8, 2009.
A Williams final shows how weak women’s tennis has become without Justine Henin (retired) and Maria Sharapova (injured). The Williams sisters have a man’s serve at 130 mph, and only a baseline game; they still can’t play a lob, or do a decent volley, i.e. not a complete game. They are not gracious winners and they are sore losers. They don’t respect tennis – just the payday.