Give Venus Some Credit

[backhander]

I know Venus lost today, but you know she was beat today and she admitted it. I was never a fan of the the Williams sisters, but I've grown to really like Venus lately, I think she's gracious and become really mature. Heaven knows she is a ton better attitude-wise than when she was a kid.

She really was gracious when asked about that huge tiebreaker mistake that went against her, and even more shockingly, Richard William was incredibly classy about it as well. (is that a first?)

I really don't think it is too much that the Williams sisters have been sucking lately, I think it is more a combination of them still coming back from long injuries and the feild really stepping it up lately.

Now if only Serena could learn from her big sis. With that, I'm still rooting for Sharapova or Hantuchova.

 

[alienhamster]

Venus is definitely more gracious than Serena, but that's not really saying anything. She's also boring as hell in interviews and refuses to elaborate on almost every question.

But on the court, I do feel myself rooting for her more lately. She seems like a nice person, but she really needs to improve her consistency and develop a net game. And a second serve while she's at it.

 

[Chanchai]

Since this topic is spreading out over various threads now.... figure I'd add something to this one.

Anyone see the American Express venus commercial?! lol

-Chanchai

 

[WW Volley]

Venus always has been a great girl. Everytime I've seen her she has a great attitude and she's really grounded despite her young age, huge success, and a sister who has taken over.

To me, Venus plays tennis because she has fun and is good at it. She's not out there to beat the pants off of everybody and prove she's the best player in the world... that just kind of happened. She's expressed more than once that she'd like to get more schooling and perhaps skip some tennis. That's maturity.

Also shows she sees more to life than tennis, which is more than I can say than a lot of players who were born with a racquet in hand. Start tennis at age 4. Train to teens, enter tournaments. Get into junior tournaments. Join the tour by age 16 or 17, not finishing high school. Play pros until early 30s and retire. Go into broadcasting for more tennis... do that until old age. Tennis tennis tennis... all they know! (Tiny rant there)

 

[a verrry large duck]

Well that's probably the classiest reaction to the most bumbling thing I've ever heard that would have gave her another set point not mentioning being up a comfortable 3-1 to attack from in the tie-break, in the final tiebreak of a 7-6,7-6 match no less. That's huge.

 

[i.Radical]

I thought she handled her loss very well, but she started pissing me off when she gave one-word answers in her interview..

 

[Ronaldo]

Just think of this as a changing of the guard. Seriously, Sprem is part of the next generation. If you feeling like a pimp Karolina, go on, brush your shoulders off.
Ladies is pimps too, go on, brush your shoulders off. Umps is crazy baby, don't forget that I told you, get that dirt off your shoulders

 

[The tennis guy]

Venus has been quite humble in defeat lately. I think loss makes you humble.

As of "To me, Venus plays tennis because she has fun and is good at it. She's not out there to beat the pants off of everybody and prove she's the best player in the world... that just kind of happened.", give me a break. Tell me she wasn't out there to beat the pants off of everybody with the way she celebrated her victory in 2000-2001.

 

[Defcon]

Theres nothing wrong with devoting yourself to the pursuit of a sport and achieving excellence in it. Why whine about tennis players, the same goes for elite players in every sport.

If you want to be a world class athlete, you have to start at a young age and really love the sport. Its no different than studying hard to be a doctor, artist or in fact any other profession. Takes just as much work and dedication I think.

For some of them, tennis may be all they know, but if they make a succesful career out of it, I see nothing wrong in it.

 

[WW Volley]

Theres nothing wrong with devoting yourself to the pursuit of a sport and achieving excellence in it.

I agree. Obviously, as I'm a sports fan and play several myself.

For some of them, tennis may be all they know, but if they make a succesful career out of it, I see nothing wrong in it.

That's where we disagree. I feel sports professionals, from all sports, who only are involved in the sport around them their whole lives are so limited. There's no self-expansion or no need to improve oneself. With substantial time and unlimited money, you'd think they'd have the ambition for... well something else. Feel free to disagree, of course. And I certainly don't wish to tell people how to live, that isn't my place either. But I do have my own opinions on the issue, and that's all it is... opinion. As they say, take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Phil]

That's where we disagree. I feel sports professionals, from all sports, who only are involved in the sport around them their whole lives are so limited. There's no self-expansion or no need to improve oneself. With substantial time and unlimited money, you'd think they'd have the ambition for... well something else. Feel free to disagree, of course. And I certainly don't wish to tell people how to live, that isn't my place either. But I do have my own opinions on the issue, and that's all it is... opinion. As they say, take it with a grain of salt.

You're right-most professional athletes are limited; culturally, intellectually, socially, etc. Having money generally doesn't change this. They are what they are-born and BRED to compete in the arena, and they, ESPECIALLY tennis players, really know no other life from the time they're very young. So even with $45 million in winnings and probably over $100 mm more in endorsements and guarantees, I can assure you that Pete Sampras isn't filling his post-tennis years by catching up on the classics and attending string quartet concerts. I hear he plays a lot of golf.

It's fate and destiny, really. From YOUR vantage point, sure, what an opportunity it would be, with all that money and time, to make yourself into a renaissance man or woman. But you have to realize that most of these athletes are poorly or simply UN-educated in anything beyond their respective sport. They have never lived a life of the mind, so they have no ambition to improve or expand on what isn't there to begin with. There are EXCEPTIONS of course-B.J. King has been an outspoken activist, and so was Arthur Ashe, and the Williams sisters seem have considered a full life without tennis, but those types are RARE. The rule, rather than the exception, is Pete, blissfully ignorant and happily banging away on the golf course.

 

[WW Volley]

I agree, Phil. I just think it's a shame.

 

[bigserving]

Venus has been quite humble in defeat lately. I think loss makes you humble.

As of "To me, Venus plays tennis because she has fun and is good at it. She's not out there to beat the pants off of everybody and prove she's the best player in the world... that just kind of happened.", give me a break. Tell me she wasn't out there to beat the pants off of everybody with the way she celebrated her victory in 2000-2001.

Everyone celebrates victories. I am not sure if it says more about the player or us if we ask, or expect them to celebrate in a way that in more comfortable to us.

I agree that Venus was trying to beat the pants off of everyone out there. I hope that she, and every single other professional is trying to do the same every time that they go on court. That is the very nature of on-court competition.

However, I think that Venus gets it. She realizes that she will have the opportunity to participate compete and earn at this rate, at this level, for a relativley short period of time. Her job on-court is to always, perform to the best of her ability.

But there is more. More to the world and to life. She has never been blindly single-minded toward tennis. She was taught important life priorities at a young age. An example is, as a young player, making her education a priorty over tennis. Continuing and completing her high school education, she was taught that there can be much more to her life than tennis. She gets that.

I think that she understands that her tennis job is to prepare, compete, enjoy, and entertain. She'll be here for a short time on here way to other adventures and challenges in her life that will prove to be far bigger than the GAME of tennis.

It seems that many people on this board might be more entertained if she were to lose more. What will these posters do with all of their hate when she is no longer playing?

Maybe they will write more insightful posts about Chicks that are Hot!

 

[PusherMan]

Since this topic is spreading out over various threads now.... figure I'd add something to this one.

Anyone see the American Express venus commercial?! lol

-Chanchai

Yeah, I've seen it. I thought it was pretty funny. Had me rolling for a good 30 seconds. Especially when the mole sticks his head out ever so slightly as Venus walks away. heheheheheheh

 

[david aames]

In his attempt to come back, Tyson is painting himself as Edmond Dantes these days - the Count of Montecristo character - and say things like 'I miss the Louvre'. For some reason, personalities are more colorful in other sports than tennis.

And I thought Pete was all about trying to find Nicole Simpson's real killer on the Brentwood golf course... Guess I was wrong.

There are EXCEPTIONS of course-B.J. King has been an outspoken activist, and so was Arthur Ashe, and the Williams sisters seem have considered a full life without tennis, but those types are RARE. The rule, rather than the exception, is Pete, blissfully ignorant and happily banging away on the golf course.