I just finished reading a piece in ESPN The Magazine (ps, hey editors, my resume is available if needed....) where Serena and Venus Williams were being interviewed about their 2008 year, and the piece left me a bit befuddled. At one point, Venus Williams tells the author about her Wimbledon victory (her fifth career btw), "I'm a little disappointed to be honest. I was hoping to have more by now. I was thinking more like 10."
This is interesting if you ask me. This is Venus Williams who at one point stepped away from tennis to start a fashion line, correct? She was wearing her latest concoction to play at the French Open. She was appearing on Letterman and Leno instead of practicing. She was doing the talk shows while Justine Henin was hitting balls.
And a quote from Serena hit me as odd too. "They'll have to drag me out back and shoot me." Really? Or offer you a job on Law & Order. Serena didn't exactly overexert herself getting back from an "injury" while Amile Muresmo or Kim Clijsters was dominating the tennis scene. Serena was too busy ALSO doing Letterman or dating Lavar Arrington to keep practicing or rehabbing. She was doing commercials and also showing up in one-piece catsuits to play tennis.
It always seemed that it was more of a spectacle than a sport for the Williams sisters. Don't know why. Maybe they think they are nearing the end of their careers and they realize that they both could have truly ruled tennis. They should know that if they had given it their all, the records would NEVER be broken. They dominated the sport, in bursts. Then they'd go off and make a fashion line. I don't feel bad for them. They did it to themselves. And it makes me a bit angry when they wonder aloud, "Gosh I wish I had ten Wimbledon titles!" Maybe you should have taken it more seriously. Maybe instead of shooting an episode of Nip/Tuck you should have been hitting with the ball machine.
These days it seems that it is all about making yourself a brand. LeBron and Dwyane do it, the Williams sisters did it. Jeter does it. And good for all of those guys. But I am guessing LeBron wishes maybe he was Tim Duncan. Tiger, as much as he does the ads, you see him on the practice greens. You see him on the driving range. You will never seen Tiger towards the end of his career say, "Gosh I wish I had won more Masters titles. He realizes his gifts and he is taking advantage of it. Tiger is using golf to accomplish golf. The Williams sisters always seemed to use the Tennis to get their other stuff done. Which is FINE. I won't fault them for it. But PLEASE don't go back and wish you had done more. This was your own doing, gals. And your looking back at your careers, wishing you could have done more, THAT JUST PISSES ME OFF.
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