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Men's Tennis
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Women's Tennis
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| Wednesday, April 11 |
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| Navratilova says Richard Williams should tone it down Reuters | ||||||||
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- Tennis legend Martina
Navratilova said Tuesday she thinks Richard Williams should
tone down his presence in the women's game and believes that
the father of top-10 players Venus and Serena Williams has a
habit of creating controversy where none exists.
"He's creating a lot of controversy where there shouldn't
be any," said the 44-year-old Navratilova, who will play
doubles this week with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario at the Bausch &
Lomb Championships.
The outspoken Navratilova dismissed Richard Williams's
recent charges that racism was behind the negative response he
and his daughters received from fans at Indian Wells, rather
than anger over Venus's last minute withdrawal from an eagerly
anticipated semifinal against Serena with a knee injury.
"There's no racism as far as I know," said Navratilova, who
rejoined the tour in 2000 to occasionally play doubles after
four years away from competition.
Navratilova, who has been doing some work as a television commentator since her days as a full-time player came to a close, also addressed rumors that Richard Williams predetermines the outcome of matches in which his daughters face each other, a suggestion that the Williams family has vehemently denied. "It's just too bad that there's an inkling of a controversy and that people might be trying not to win on purpose," Navratilova said. The supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer ran a cover story charging that Richard Williams ordered Serena to throw last year's Wimbledon semifinal with eventual champion Venus. "I have no idea if their father tells them who should win a match, but I called that semifinal match (for television) at Wimbledon and I thought Serena looked really out of sorts," Navratilova said. "She just really looked out of it and didn't look like herself. Whatever reasons there were, I don't know." Navratilova was highly critical of Richard Williams's celebratory display on stadium court after Venus beat Lindsay Davenport at the U.S. Open last year. "If Richard Williams had danced in front of me after I lost to one of his daughters in a match, I probably would have hit him," Navratilova said smiling. "What he did at the U.S. Open was absolutely horrible. It has no place in sports or in tennis." Of course, there is nothing new about overbearing fathers on the tennis scene. In her playing days, Navratilova witnessed the distress and distractions caused by Steffi Graf's father Peter, Jennifer Capriati's father Stefano and Mary Pierce's father Jim, to name a few. "It's difficult for the daughters to control their father," Navratilova said. "We've had some amazing fathers in tennis before and it's always been difficult for (the daughters) to tell their father to cool it." She offered one last piece of unsolicited advice to Richard Williams. "He did a great job with both girls bringing them to the level they are at right now, but he needs to put a lid on it."  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories | |
AUDIO/VIDEO   Martina Navratilova speaks out about Richard Williams' cry of racism (Courtesy: WIXT).wav: 193 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | ||||||
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