Yep, I happened to see the interview last night after her 2nd round match. The following (from an Arab news medium) is as detailed as it gets about the whole thing. Also, love or hate John McEnroe, but he's very charitable. Serena to hit aces for hurricane relief effort http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=121007&Sn=SPOR&IssueID=28166 NEW YORK: Seven-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams pledged to donate $100 for every ace she serves for the rest of the year to relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Serena announced her plan to the crowd at the National Tennis Centre after her second-round victory at the US Open tennis championships. "I would like to thank everyone for coming out," she said. "The hurricane that happened in New Orleans and Mississippi - it has been such a tragedy down there. "I've decided for every ace I hit I'm going to donate $100 for the rest of the year for every tournament I play." Later she elaborated on the decision. "On TV, every channel I watched, even ESPN, they have all this coverage over the hurricane, all the damage it's done," she said. "Last year we in Palm Beach got hit really bad. "That was like a Category two, three maybe at the most. It was devastating down there. "I can only imagine what it must be in New Orleans, especially looking at all the footage, all the rain, all this horrible stuff. I thought it would be just a halfway decent gesture." Immediately after Serena's announcement, tennis great John McEnroe pledged to donate $25,000 to relief efforts and urged others involved in the sport to do what they could. Serena Williams, however, said she did not intend her gesture to goad others.
Very cool. I love McEnroe. Late in his career, I used to always pull for him...although he was much less obnoxious then, and not nearly the player he had been in his prime. But in any case, he was good for tennis. And yes, he is very charitable....I think he's been so since I can remember the name McEnroe.
You know, there's no doubt that this is admirable, but I've always had sort of a problem with doing it like this. Like, the Phillies donate a hundred bucks to some children's charity for every homer they hit in the sixth inning or something like that. If you want to donate, then just figure out how much you're able to give, and do it. What if Serena has an off year, or gets injured?
I see your point, and it's very valid. But this is sports, and there is something about a competitive situation where, as Serena blasts an ace by her opponent, you know 100 just went to the hurricane relief....and that really gets fans entrenched into the match or matches. The other half of me says, like you, just donate. Not only that, but donate and don't call a press conference about it. Why bring it to light? Do it because you want to. But I have to remember the bottom line - she is helping the victims of this tragedy. So that's always a good thing.
*Not* really much less In his 4th round match at 1990 Aussie Open ((just over two years before his retirement in 1992), McEnroe was disqualified for swearing at the umpire, supervisor and referee. He was warned by the umpire for intimidating a lineswoman and then docked a point for smashing his racket. Mac thought it was still a 'progressive' penalty system -- a warning, then a point, then the game, and finally the match. Unfortunately a third violation in the new Code of Conduct would not lead to deduction of a game, but immediate disqualification from the tourney. Guess that was a real shock for him.
Well, he had his moments certainly.....but it was still less obnoxious. I remember him in his prime, and in several matches I watched, he would argue, stare, yell and intimidate seemingly on every other call. Crazy!
JAMES BLAKE JUST BEAT NADAL IN 4 SETS!!! HUGE victory and Blake looked great out there. One less player wearing clamdiggers in the tournament too. WHEW!
Wow, I missed the match but, that's awesome. Blake has been playing lights out prior to the US Open, so I'm glad he's living up to this year's hype.
LOL, I initially wished Federer would kick Nadal's ass. Way to go James Blake! Forget about the Andy Roddick hype. All his big posts at the U.S. Open and the 'funny' commercials on TV only make the organizers and the execs of the sponsors look foolish.
Every top ranked player is susceptible to an upset now and then. Agassi, Sampras, Becker, Edberg, even Lendl had some major early round upsets in their grand slam career. Heck even Graf had one or two.....but not very many. I think Roddick's loss to Muller does nothing to hurt his credibility or make his success and ranking into a fluke. He was off, and Muller was ON. It happens. Roddick will be back. I actually like the kid, he has charisma, and his big game is really fun to watch.
I'm glad Muller beat Roddick. I have come to like Muller a lot. I hope he goes far in his career. The Blake/Nadal match was a very exciting one. I'm glad Blake won. He plays the style of tennis I like to watch.
I think it's fair to say Muller is going to be a successful tennis pro. He is a a young upstart and seems very confident. I also like the kid Agassi is playing today, Berdych. Scoville Jenkins, another young US player, also looks like he has a bright future.
Did anybody watching the Blake-Nadal match notice unruling behaviors of the fans? I read on a newsgroup it was not pretty - sorta tainted Blake's victory.
That's always been a part of the US Open. Loud, semi-obnoxious fans. It happened in Agassi's win yesterday over Berdych as well. They yell when they toss the ball up to serve, if the lesser liked player argues about a call, they jump all over them. It's almost a tradition there.....I hate to say.
By unruling behavior I didn't mean the type of things you are talking about here, I should've probably been more specific though. Apparently the fans were making loud and derogatory comments in reference of Nadal's out-of-tradition pants, according to someone in the newsgroup I read. I highly doubt Nadal is a gay, so these chants (which are sufficient grounds for immediate ban on this BBS) may hardly faze him.
I saw the pants nadal wears. but i do not understand what the fans were so upset about, Those kinds of pants are very popular in europe, atleast in holland. About all my summer pants are like that.(or am i missing something, the are upset about the length of the pants?) Hoop-T, it is even worse in England and France.
Well that only means one thing: Americans should get out more and see the world. Pretty much sure if you are talking about soccer (football) fans. Tennis fans at U.S. Open are probably the "worst", compare to those at the other 3 grand slams. Probably only at Davis Cup do you expect fans get raucous. But then again, hurling out gay-bashing insults at an opposing player is over the line.
Was an awesome match an the 2 players gave their all which made it all the more enjoyable. Good to see a match go the distance like that yet both players both playing the game in a great spirit.
