“The crowd was begging!”Jimmy Connors once defended Serena Williams over her infamous blatant rant at the US Open
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Jimmy Connors and Serena Williams
Serena Williams, the former World one shook the world with her retirement announcement where she revealed that the US Open will be the final innings of her career putting rest to any sort of rumors. She expressed her desire to enjoy the final matches of her career as post-retirement, she would totally devote her time to starting a new journey of life with new endeavors. She has proved her dominance over the years and is still a force to be reckoned with. She has motivated millions of players and still continues to do so inspiring them to take the leap as she had done years back.
The 23-time singles Grand Slam champion holds the record for the most number of singles Grand Slam titles in the Open era and will be looking to end her career on a high possibility with a win for the very last time. She made her comeback to the court after a year at the grass-court season but faced a shocking defeat in the first round at Wimbledon. She even failed to move past the second round at Canadian Open followed by another disappointing loss against Emma Raducanu at the Western & Southern Open. This loss was her third loss after her comeback. She will face Danka Kovinic in the first round of the US Open in her final Grand Slam tournament appearance.
Throwback to the times when Jimmy Connors supported Serena Williams
Serena Williams has been a very fierce and tough competitor which includes the aggressive nature that has landed in tough situations at times. Jimmy Connors, the former American player defended his compatriot Williams and stood out in support for her actions that hampered Samantha Stosur’s play and also insulted chair umpire Eva Aderaski during the US Open finals in 2011. Williams was down a set and facing a break point in the first game of the second set, the American hit a forehand and shouted, “Come on!” as Stosur reached down for a backhand. Chair umpire Eva ruled that Williams hindered Stosur’s ability to complete the point and awarded it to Stosur.
He believed that the crowd was wanting some more excitement and wanted to see Williams get pumped up so started instigating her. He even compared the situation to the time when he was gone through something of this kind of getting into a heated argument. He said “That crowd of 25,000 was begging for something to happen in that match, and at that moment, they got loud and behind Serena. Was it that terrible? If that’s terrible, then me and John McEnroe wouldn’t have been in the game very long. We clashed on every point, and sometimes it was pure pandemonium. But fans loved it.“
Serena Williams did not apologize for her behavior nor was even feeling sorry about it rather upon being asked about the incident, she failed to own up to it stating she doesn’t remember it. She in her reply said “I don’t even remember what I said. It was just so intense out there. … I guess I’ll see it on YouTube.“
Also Read: Pam Shriver elated to see Serena Williams draw “out of form” Danka Kovinic in the US Open 1st round
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)