What THEY Said

About Sister Serena

(Part III)
by Ahmed Olayinka Sule !"A
suleaos#$mail%&om
http://www.scribd.com/Alatenumo/documents
http://about.me/ahmedsule
Prologue
The naysayers had 'ritten her o((% They said she 'as (inished% They said that there 'as a
ne' kid on the blo&k% They said the )ueen 'as on dru$s% Some e*en &alled her a beast and
a man% They said mother a$e had (inally &au$ht u+ 'ith the )ueen, her best days 'ere
behind her%
-ut the )ueen i$nored their ne$ati*ity% She 'ent to the &ourts% .ay and ni$ht she 'orked
hard to silen&e the +layer haters% Sister Serena remained (o&used and (i/ed her eyes on the
+ri0e% She landed in 1e' York (ired u+ and ready to $o% She demolished all alon$ her +ath
and no' she is on to+%
Sin&e then the story has &han$ed% The media had to re'rite the headline ne's% The +layer
haters ha*e been (or&ed to $ro*el at the (eet o( the )ueen% The )ueen is ba&k and Sister
Serena has not e*en started%
Throu$hout her &areer Sister Serena has been 'ritten o(( many times only (or her to &ome
ba&k and +ro*e +eo+le 'ron$% In my third They Said series I &hroni&le *arious thin$s said
a$ainst the )ueen% This series &o*ers the +eriod startin$ (rom the 2345 Australian O+en u+ to
the &on&lusion o( the 2345 6S O+en%
"or earlier *ersions o( the series &li&k the link belo'7
Series 4
Series 2
Ahmed Olayinka Sule !"A
September 2014
They Said
After her loss at the Australian Open in January 2014 !"#$ SA%&
Yeah, the classless arrogant Serena is gone. Now we don't have to listen to endless
commentary about her. She is the worst example of sportsmanship there is. It's sad to think
of younger players looking up to her...She is nothing but a bully and a blowhard!
"enry Sado's(i
"Serena is a primate. #lad to see $NY%N& beat her....but when it's my favorite honey $na
who crushed her, it 'ust made it all that much S(&&)&*.....!
A(u Si )o
"+ooks like the beauty kicked the beast in the teeth and took her to the curb... ,ongrats $na!
Johnny *orris
After her loss to Ali+e ,ornet in June 2014 at -imbledon !"#$ SA%&
")he -./time ma'or champion has now failed to make it to the 0uarterfinals in four of her last
five ma'ors1the notable exception being her 2.S. %pen victory in 34-5. It's time to face the
music6 Serena is 53 years old, and she's been playing ma'ors for the last -. years. $ge is
catching up to her.!
.indsay /ibbs
")he female 7r ) doesn't like losing very much does she8 Sore loser.!
0obert 1&aily *ail online 2omment3
"9ut there's no doubting that the days of greatness aren't a given like they used to be. )hree
early losses at Slams in a row isn't a coincidence or a fluke: it's a trend. It's unfortunate, but
even the legends can't outrun the aging process.!
.indsay /ibbs
After she 'as affe2ted 'ith a 4irus at -imbledon !"#$ SA%&
")his is not an illness, it's almost like she has taken something that makes her feel di;;y,
disoriented, and she cannot reach up and strike the ball.!
Pam Shri4er
"It will be interesting. Is it a virus8 Is it something unintentional or intentional in her system
that they may drug test for whatever reason something has affected her8!
,hris #4ert
"(ell they do have drug testing at all the ma'ors and there will be a lot of speculation about
what in the world is wrong with Serena (illiams and we will find out as much as we can.!
Pam Shri4er
<&verybody was put in such a difficult position, including the ()$. It's not right. It defies logic
on so many fronts. )he coach said he hadn't seen her for two days. =e didn't know anything.
=ow can you be a coach and not know anything8 )hat's wrong. $nd >enus was 'ust kind of
there. You don't know what's going on, but virus was not it, that much is clear.<
8*artina 5a4ratilo4a
"(as Serena drug/tested after the match8 If so, what were the results8 )he International
)ennis ?ederation is in charge of drug testing at #rand Slam tournaments. )he organi;ation
will not discuss specific cases but does say that <samples are collected on both a random and
targeted basis. )here is no rule which specifies when a player may @or may notA be tested.<
*elissa %saa2son
"Is ?ather )ime playing a role8 (illiams has always been able to bounce back from low
points and restore her confidence. 9ut what will it take this time8 Serena turns 55 on Sept.
3B, and she hasn't advanced past the fourth round of a #rand Slam this year.!
*elissa %saa2son
%n a debate on 'hether age is 2at2hing up 'ith Serena !"#$ SA%&
)his is what it looks like when age starts encroaching on an athlete's career, even a great
athlete's, even the greatest tennis player of her time and perhaps of all timeC. ?rankly, it is
not a signal we should need at this point. (illiams is 53 years old, 55 in September, and
almost/55/year/olds don't recover as 0uickly from in'uries and even from tournament to
tournament and match to match.!
*elissa %saa2son
On 02 July 2014 !"#$ SA%&
(ith every lingering in'ury, every loss to a #arbine 7uguru;a, it is easier to believe that
(illiams e0ualing or surpassing the -D/#rand Slam title mark of 7artina Navratilova and
,hris &vert in the %pen era ESteffi #raf has 33F might not happen.!
*elissa %saa2son
After her first round 4i2tory at the 6S Open !"#$ SA%&:
"=ow important was it to get to the second round8 You used to take it for granted!
A7!#0 S%S!#0 S#0#5A8S S#,60#& "#0 S%9!" 6S OP#5 !%!.# and
1:
!"
/0A5& S.A* O5 ; S#P!#*)#0 2014 !"#$ 5O- SA$ :
"(e all admire her greatnessC=istory will remember Serena (illiams as setting the most
ridiculously high bar for women tennis and now she knows her place in history!
,hris #4ert
"Geople kept asking Serena the last year, H=owIs it going to feel to be in the same company
with 7artina and ,hrissie8I and IIm thinking to myself, (ell, IIm the one whoIs honored to
have Serena in the same sentence.!
,hris #4ert
"$nyone who likes sports should love (illiamsIs da;;ling combination of talent, persistence,
style, unpredictability, poise, and outsi;ed, heart/on/her/sleeve flaws. 9ut not everyone loves
her. Gart of this is owing to the duelling /isms of $merican pre'udice, sexism, and racism,
which manifest every time viewers, mostly men, are moved to remark on (illiamsIs body in a
way that reveals what might most charitably be called discomfort.!
%an ,rou2h
"It firmly 'ust puts into your mind that absolutely she will go down in history as the greatest
female tennis player of all time!
Patri2( *2#nroe
"-Dx5JKL Mserenawilliams M,hrissie&vert Mmartina loved how 7artina kept ,aroline
representing all of us with 4 in pic!
Pam Shri4er on !'itter
"Simply put, it's highly unlikely we will ever see someone like Serena on a tennis court. )he
tennis gods seemed to create her 'ust like we'd create an avatar in a video game6 setting
every available skill to the highest possible level. It can be argued that few humans, if any,
have ever been endowed with such immense gifts for playing the sport of tennis.!
0olling Stone
"Serena does not seem to be going anywhere. 7uch as the ancient almost/55/year/old gave
us reasonable cause to wonder about her future after failing to get past the fourth round of
the first three ma'ors of 34-L and exiting (imbledon in a well/documented cloud of doubt,
she was back to her indomitable self at the %pen. %r at least strong enough to win the title
without dropping a set.!
*elissa %saa2son
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9ET THE: SAY