Serena Williams saw her latest U.S. Open bid fall by the wayside on Sunday when Australia’s Samantha Stosur beat her 6-2, 6-3 in a stunning finals victory. That wasn’t the worst of it by a long shot.
The athletic diva lost her cool and unleashed a nasty rant against the chair umpire, Eva Asderaki, after being penalized for a code violation.
Things heated up during the first game of the second set. Stosur, 27, went after a forehand shot by Williams. Just before the ball hit the racket of Stosur, Williams screamed “Come On!” Stosur, obviously affected, barely tapped the ball.
The hindrance rule states, “If a player commits any act which hinders his opponent in making a stroke, then, if this is deliberate, he shall lose the point or if involuntary, the point shall be replayed.”
Williams received a point penalty for the violation, which gave the break of serve to Stosur. Apparently unable to hold her tongue, Serena directed some choice words at Asderaki.
Speaking her mind, including what sounded very much like a thinly veiled threat, Williams spewed, “Don’t even look at me. I promise you, don’t look at me… don’t look my way. What a loser, you’re a hater. A code violation because I expressed who I am? Really? If you ever see me walking down the hall … walk the other way.”
Perhaps not as graphic as her infamous 2009 obscenity-laced rant, yesterday’s outburst cost the athlete $2,000. The mild sanction was meted out by the Grand Slam committee.
Williams was asked about the exchange with Asderaki after the match. She said, “I don’t even remember what I said. I was just really intense out there. I guess I’ll see it on YouTube. I was just in a zone.”
In reflecting on the commotion, Stosur said, “It was pretty difficult to serve the next point and the crowd was going nuts, and it was so loud and I felt like the noise was going right through me. I just wanted to get that next ball in the court and try to settle everyone down and get on with it.”
Stosur is the first Australian woman to win a major tennis tournament in 31 years. She expects that her homecoming will be “quite amazing.”
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