E-Paper
Time to practice, says Serena
After being literally reduced to tears by fellow American Jill Craybas, Serena feels she needs to spend more time on the practice court.
The weekend before Wimbledon, Serena Williams said she wanted to start accepting more acting roles. Now she's thinking maybe she needs to spend more time on the practice court.
Reduced to tears by an inability to control her groundstrokes, Williams lost 6-3, 7-6 (4) Saturday in the third round to Jill Craybas, an American ranked 85th.
The last time they played, Craybas won a single game, which is one measure of how far Williams has slipped.
Here's another: She hasn't won a tournament since claiming her seventh Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January. And another: Before losing to Craybas, she was pushed to three sets in the first two rounds, the first time that's happened to her at a major event.
And one more: She failed to reach the second week at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 1999.
Williams declined to blame a lingering ankle injury, but it clearly contributed. She sat out for six weeks leading up to Wimbledon and played just one match in nearly 2 months.
As a result, she looked rusty and slow-footed against Craybas, and her serve was so unreliable that she lost her first five service games. Her confidence shaken, she twisted her body in anguish and shrieked as the misfires mounted.
After winning five of six Grand Slam tournaments including Wimbledon twice during one stretch in 2002-03, Williams has added only one major title since. She rejects criticism that she spends too much time on her acting and fashion careers, and last week she said she was tired of turning down movie roles.
But after losing for only the second time in her past 24 matches at Wimbledon, a chastened Williams dabbed tears from her eyes and pledged to practice more.
"I definitely think it's important for me to practice harder than what I have been," she said. "I've never been big on practicing. I've kind of just been all about playing. I love getting out there and playing matches, so I think I'm going to have to do a little more practicing."
Toward the end of her defeat on the cozy outer court nicknamed "The Graveyard of Champions," Williams panted in exhaustion. She said conditioning will be a bigger focus in her new regimen. "As soon as tomorrow comes, I think I should be on the court," she said. "Not just on the court, but just working out in general."
Even if Williams had rallied to victory, as she did in the first two matches, she faced a difficult path to her third Wimbledon title. Older sister Venus awaited in the fourth round, defending champion Maria Sharapova loomed as a potential semifinal opponent, and top-ranked Lindsay Davenport or Kim Clijsters were also potential hurdles.
"The depth of women's tennis is getting stronger and stronger," Craybas said. "You see it every day."
The days of domination for the Williams sisters seem long ago. They faced each other in six Grand Slam finals during a span of eight major events ending with Wimbledon in 2003. But Venus' fortunes have declined even more dramatically than her sister's. The elder Williams is seeded just 14th, earned her most recent Grand Slam championship in 2001 and has won only one tournament in the past year.
What are her title chances now that Serena has been eliminated? "I think Venus will pretty much win the next round and go from there," Serena said.
For Serena, the next tournament begins July 25 in Palo Alto, California. As she spoke about that event, she was reminded she's scheduled to play for the U.S. Fed Cup team July 9-10 in Moscow.
"Oh, I forgot about Moscow," she said. "So many things on the schedule, so much to look forward to."
