Serena Williams recalls when crowd booed her in 2001 Indian Wells final
Speaking to GQ Magazine, Serena Williams revealed three tennis matches that she still remembers very well. At the 1999 US Open, Serena defeated Martina Hingis 6-3, 7-6(4). 'That was a really big turning point in my career winning at my first Grand Slam. I always said I was going to win a Grand Slam, and next thing I know, I'd won, beating the No.1 player in the world. Hingis was really dominating everyone at that time, so I was glad to get that one because I kind of deep starting my career.'
Then of course, she recalled her 2001 Indian Wells final win over Kim Clijsters 4-6 6-4 6-2. In the semi-finals, Venus had withdrawn due to injury against Serena. On the day of the final, Serena got booed by the crowd receiving racist messages. 'I was a teenager and the crowd was booing me', she admitted. 'It was a white crowd, and in the middle of a city where it was predominantly Caucasians, and that was very difficult for me especially with being black and having a history. When I walked out on the court the crowd started bullying, so that was really a difficult time for me to try to get through that match and when I did it was like, who would want to go to a place where they did not want it and I was okay with that. Everyone can have their opinion, but I just felt I needed to take a little break from there. I finally went back in 2014, it was just a new generation of people, it was nice to go back and see kids that never saw me play. I thought it was first incredible that my career was able to last that long and it was even more impactful and powerful that I could go back.'
The "Serena Slam" that she completed for the first time in 2003 (by winning the Australian Open) was an important milestone in her career: 'I was really nervous for that final in Australia, I think it was three sets and I may have lost the first set. On the match point I was like, Wow, how I did it, finally. It was really cool, no one had done that since Steffi Graf in the 80s and so there in 2003 I was completing the Serena Slam winning four in a row, which is incredibly hard to do. I definitely think the reason why I became a stronger people is that people up atheir game to beat me. I have also had to up my game and try to win and do better and be better.'
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from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2zDXw32
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