“She doesn’t have respect” Arantxa Sanchez Vicario once ‘taught’ Serena Williams a lesson on her attitude after beating her at the 1998 French Open


“She doesn’t have respect” Arantxa Sanchez Vicario once ‘taught’ Serena Williams a lesson on her attitude after beating her at the 1998 French Open

Serena Williams and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario

Despite being regarded as the Greatest female tennis player of all time, Serena Williams has had a fair share of on-court controversies throughout her career, especially during the early stages of her playing career. During the 1998 season, she broke into the WTA circuit and her fellow players weren’t happy with her attitude.

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At that time, Serena was 16 years old and during the Round of 16 match at the 1998 French Open, she got into a spat with Spaniard Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. The No.4 seed eventually defeated Serena in three sets 4-6,7-5,6-3 and after the match, had reserved some words for the teenager’s on-court attitude.

She said that Serena doesn’t have any respect and cannot play with such an attitude. She claimed that she gave her a reality check and taught her a lesson. “I just think she doesn’t have respect. She cannot go in with that attitude. You know, I’m glad that I beat her. That’s the thing — I taught her a lesson,” Vicario said.

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Arantxa Sanchez Vicario called out Serena Williams’ attitude

Serena Williams
Serena Williams

Over a few lines calls and a double bounce decision, the duo had a brief argument after which Vicario wasn’t happy with Serena throughout the match. Vicario then condemned Serena’s aggressive attitude and also called out the instance where Serena tried to hit her with the ball.

“She came to the net talking very aggressively. I don’t think she can act that way. I don’t think it’s nice at all. She went to hit me. I was lucky that I went to the other side. It just passed me. She just started laughing, looking at me badly,” she said.

“Every time I see her play a match, she always argues about almost every call. She didn’t do that, then I would have been a little surprised because she argues a lot. I think she thought the white dress would be a better tactic against me, so it proved to be.”

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