Serena Williams compared the circumstances at Flushing Meadows to a wrong umpiring decision that resulted to her sister Venus Williams losing to Karolina Sprem at Wimbledon in 2004.
Follow Us
Serena Williams overcame many obstacles, particularly in the beginning of her career, but she never shied away from confronting people who mistreated her. The American was horrified when the chair umpire made bad mistakes during her match against Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals of the 2004 US Open, costing her match 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Despite dropping to World No. 11 in the rankings, Serena Williams was seeded third in New York. Before facing Capriati, she defeated Petra Mandula, Shikha Uberoi, Chanda Rubin, and Lindsay Davenport. Midway through the quarterfinal round, chair umpire Mariana Alves made a string of strange decisions that left Williams and the commentary team speechless. Alves mistakenly called out a few of the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s later returns.
Williams finally contacted the chair umpire to make her case that her shot had fallen inside the line after initially seeming a little nervous. Jennifer Capriati eventually reached the semifinals, despite the fact that television pundits were equally baffled by the umpire’s decisions as the player who had won the competition twice in 1999 and 2002. Serena Williams compared the circumstances at Flushing Meadows to a wrong umpiring decision that resulted to her sister Venus Williams losing to Karolina Sprem at Wimbledon in 2004.
She made a joke following the match, “At first, I thought it was another Wimbledon conspiracy,” which led to the development of Hawk-Eye technology for line calls. She also made it crystal clear that the Portuguese umpire should never again be permitted to oversee one of her games. I would prefer that she stop officiating at my court. She obviously dislikes Serena,” she continued.
Between 1999 and 2004, Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati, who were both coached by Rick Macci early in their respective careers, faced off 17 times. Williams prevailed 10 times, including an eight-match winning streak between 2001 and 2003. The Michigan-born player defeated her senior opponent in Berlin in 1999, but then suffered four straight losses, including one in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2001.
The 2002 French Open semifinals between the two were one of their arduous contests, with Capriati losing 3-6 7-6(2) 6-2. By defeating Capriati in the quarterfinals of the 2003 Wimbledon tournament, Serena Williams tipped the scales. Capriati completed her career with just three Grand Slam titles despite being a young prodigy who broke into the top 10 at the age of 14, while Serena Williams won a staggering 23.
