Day 13.

[Brinyi]

Just out of curiosity, did any replays ever get a decent angle on the foot fault? All the ones I've seen are inconclusive.

“You need a wild streak … a kind of irrational killer instinct. You need to put it out that you’re reckless and unpredictable.”
-- S. Williams in her autobiography

OK, that is definitely out there now, haha!

[Iorix]

Sept 13, 2009 6:20:34 GMT -5 janie said:

no wonder she got pushed past her toddler-level frustration threshold.

Pretty much, only I think she seemed rattled right from the moment when Kim first broke her serve.

Good that Serena's psycho cuntiness oncourt finally caught up with her - it was about time.

Sept 13, 2009 6:20:34 GMT -5 janie said:

Woz hasn't got a prayer. You could place a bet on that one, Willow. ;D

Dunno about that. What worked against Serena won't work against Pushniacki. And Kim struggled in both her last matches vs Megapusher Jankovic. Still, I'd say 60-70% she has it in the bag. Hoping for a beating for the ages, but I suspect I won't get it.

[Viktymize]

Karma is a big fat bitch.

[Calico]

Sept 13, 2009 7:35:46 GMT -5 Brinyi said:

Just out of curiosity, did any replays ever get a decent angle on the foot fault? All the ones I've seen are inconclusive.

“You need a wild streak … a kind of irrational killer instinct. You need to put it out that you’re reckless and unpredictable.”
-- S. Williams in her autobiography

OK, that is definitely out there now, haha!

Good find Brinyi. Very apropos.

[The Chloe]

I finally watched a clip of the incident. Lol. Honestly, regardless of whether or not you think calls of that nature should be made that late in a match (they should be, or why have rules at all?), Serena's response was just horrid. You don't scream in the face and wag your finger at a linesperson and expect to get away with it. Anybody who has been let off the hook for it was lucky to have an umpire not doing their job.

You can only hope that she'll learn from this - That she'll be appropriately embarrassed and won't stoop to such shrill, entitled, bratty behaviour on court ever again.

[Edna Krabappel]

Looking back to it, it seems even more bizarre. She didn't seem that upset initially, but then she just goes bonkers. However, she calmed down really fast and went into La La Land during the press conference basically saying the lineswoman was right.
It's really strange. It might even look like she did all of this on purpose. I don't really think that's the case, because really, what would she gain that way, but still, WTF.

[janie]

Just think how much more fun it would have been if it had been dear Kimmie who flipped her lid!

[The Chloe]

Had Capriati done that back in the day, it would have been unsurprising and equally appalling. If Kimmy did it, it would demonstrate a hint of personality that I wasn't sure existed before. I would be conflicted.

[leelee]

Serena didn't flip her lid. Like Ballbuster said, she's been doing this stuff for years. It was purely an intimidation tactic that she'd always gotten away with. Along with the elitist thought like John said "you can't call that there."

Props to the lineswoman for doing her job there, and refusing to take the abuse.

And Women's Tennis continues its spiral into being as legitimate as WWE.

[DBBN]

Sept 13, 2009 9:54:38 GMT -5 The Chloe said:

egardless of whether or not you think calls of that nature should be made that late in a match (they should be, or why have rules at all?)

Sept 13, 2009 10:34:28 GMT -5 @leelee said:

Along with the elitist thought like John said "you can't call that there."

Props to the lineswoman for doing her job there, and refusing to take the abuse.

Word. That's as dumb as saying "You can't call a double fault on MP because that would be a stupid way to end the match." Okay -- let's give these morons three serves in tight situations then. Morons.

What's with this Rosie Perez soundalike cheering on Rafa in the interstitials? And why are they using the same dumb counterpoint voice/speech for Del Potro that they used for Gonzalez -- do they think no one would notice? I hate ESPN.

[The Chloe]

I am awake! Tarding!

[The Chloe]

Oh, wrong thread.

[Grarliner]

This time I think it was more than an intimidation tactic, although definitely Serena isn't above those. I wonder if ... I wonder if it enraged her so much to be called for it then and there that she was willing to lose the match over it? She didn't want to lose the normal way, maybe? She must've been mad about losing + the call. I wonder if she didn't realize it was over and choose to go out with that? I mean, you can't tell me she didn't know she already had a code violation.

Then again, maybe she expected to get away with it. God knows other people have. Capriati had the loudest f-bomb ever heard on national tv in the AO final against Hingis seven years ago and she didn't get anything. Serena may have felt that the importance of the point/match would make her immune.

As an aside, will anyone DARE call another foot fault on her?

Brinyi, no conclusive replay has emerged. I can only assume that the call was right, though. The lineswoman is right there and has nothing else to watch at that moment.

[leelee]

She did expect to get away with it. The only time she showed true emotion is when she responded that "I didn't say I'd kill you!"

It's possible she did this just to take the attention away from losing to Kim in such an embarrassing manner, but this is the Fucking Serena Williams that I'm confident doesn't think she'd lose while down 0-6 0-5 0-40, and for good reason.

As an aside, will anyone DARE call another foot fault on her?

The entire point of it. And the sad thing is, it's going to work and she's not going to receive a significant penalty.

[Brinyi]

I disagree. I think the officials will be even tougher on her now. It's like when you go after an umpire in baseball, you become a marked man by the fraternity of officials for a while.

Thanks Sjengster.

I also agree that this might have been the tennis of biting Holyfield's ear, and been a way to lose without having actually get knocket out, or without anyone remembering that you were pretty comprehensively beaten.

[Calico]

Sept 13, 2009 12:53:57 GMT -5 @leelee said:

She did expect to get away with it. The only time she showed true emotion is when she responded that "I didn't say I'd kill you!"

It's possible she did this just to take the attention away from losing to Kim in such an embarrassing manner, but this is the Fucking Serena Williams that I'm confident doesn't think she'd lose while down 0-6 0-5 0-40, and for good reason.

As an aside, will anyone DARE call another foot fault on her?

The entire point of it. And the sad thing is, it's going to work and she's not going to receive a significant penalty.

I think the WTA Tour is mulling over their options here. And Serena not apologozing for her outlandish behaviour and threatening a linesperson has put the WTA Tour in a tough spot. Do they suspend their best player in Serena or do they let it slide? The players and fans are watching.

[janie]

There is no way they'll "let it slide". They'll slap her with a huge fine.

[Maeby Fünke]

Its pretty much standard in womens tennis that all the focus is on the DRAMA!!! while the match itself, which nobody in Europe even saw, has been completely overlooked. I assume it was awful.

[Brinyi]

Actually, the match was not awful.

[R. Black]

Obviously rules are rules, but I wonder if there is an element of randomness when FF are being called... I bet the majority of umpires would not call a FF at such an important point of the match, unless it was an obvious FF.

[Maeby Fünke]

Sept 13, 2009 14:31:01 GMT -5 Brinyi said:

Actually, the match was not awful.

Inevitably, I suppose.

[Brinyi]

Sept 13, 2009 14:35:27 GMT -5 R. Black said:

I bet the majority of umpires would not call a FF at such an important point of the match, unless it was an obvious FF.

Certainly that's what most players seem to expect. I have no time for that argument, though. If you don't want to foot fault, don't foot fault (that is a quotation that used to be in a well-known tennis sage's signature!).

[Edna Krabappel]

I see absolutely no reason why foot faults shouldn't be consistently called at any stage of the match. They could just as well be lenient with calling the ball out when the match is close. I see no difference, to be honest, and I don't understand why foot faults are so mystified.

[R. Black]

Sept 13, 2009 14:43:41 GMT -5 Brinyi said:

Sept 13, 2009 14:35:27 GMT -5 R. Black said:

I bet the majority of umpires would not call a FF at such an important point of the match, unless it was an obvious FF.

Certainly that's what most players seem to expect. I have no time for that argument, though. If you don't want to foot fault, don't foot fault (that is a quotation that used to be in a well-known tennis sage's signature!).

There is no argument in my post, just an observation.

[R. Black]

Sept 13, 2009 14:47:26 GMT -5 Edna Krabappel said:

I see absolutely no reason why foot faults shouldn't be consistently called at any stage of the match. They could just as well be lenient with calling the ball out when the match is close. I see no difference, to be honest, and I don't understand why foot faults are so mystified.

I... agree.

But when they see the ball in, they call it in. When they see the ball out, they call it out.

When umpires see a foot fault by a couple of millimeters, is it systematically called? I doubt it. They shouldn't, but they probably consider what stage of the match it is, and other factors as well. So my point is that it's probably NOT consistently called, which makes it frustrating when it does happen at such an important point in the match.

[Edna Krabappel]

No, I agree with you. Foot faults are not called consistently, far from it. And there's plenty of people - fans, commentators, probably even officials - who don't think they should be called when the match is close. I think it's stupid, foot faults are a part of tennis just like everything else.

[janie]

Is the football game over yet? I don't want to schlep across the street only to have to watch a half-hour of football timeouts.

[Brinyi]

Sept 13, 2009 14:51:37 GMT -5 R. Black said:

Sept 13, 2009 14:43:41 GMT -5 Brinyi said:

Certainly that's what most players seem to expect. I have no time for that argument, though. If you don't want to foot fault, don't foot fault (that is a quotation that used to be in a well-known tennis sage's signature!).

There is no argument in my post, just an observation.

I understood that.

[Pamela Shriver]

Serena was fined $10,000 for the verbal abuse directed towards the ASIAN lineswoman. Here's her statement regarding the incident:

"Last night everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job," it read. "Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I don't agree with the unfair line call, in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly. I would like to thank my fans and supporters for understanding that I am human and I look forward to continuing the journey, both professionally and personally, with you all as I move forward and grow from this experience."

[janie]

That's a self-serving "apology" if I've ever heard one. No, Serena, you are not growing.

Despite the heavy fine and the statement, the incident may not be closed:

There will also be further investigation of the incident according to a statement released by the U.S. Open, "The Grand Slam rule book also allows for an investigation to be conducted by the Grand Slam Committee Administrator to determine if the behavior of Ms. Williams warrants consideration as a Major Offence for which additional penalties can be imposed. This investigation has now begun."