Here’s a Williams Act That Won’t Disappear

Richard Williams may seem impulsive, and even erratic--remember that stated plan to buy Rockefeller Center?--but if you look closely at his track record, there is a certain measure of consistency.

Williams stole the spotlight last week in South Florida, sending everyone scurrying for information when he said he has urged his older daughter, Venus Williams, to take the rest of the year off and consider retirement.

Retire at 19?

Were they thinking of writing a book? “Men Are From Mars, Venus Is Finished.”

These recent statements are really nothing new; only the timetable has been moved up. The father, in the past, has spoken frequently about his two daughters, Venus and reigning U.S. Open champion Serena, leaving tennis behind and conquering new worlds.

“Maybe I’m crazy,” he said to one reporter last week. “Do you think I’m crazy?”

In a sense, he has done this before. He pulled Venus off the junior circuit as a preteen after she accumulated an outstanding record in Southern California, never losing a singles match. And, then, nothing.

The withdrawal from organized competition created an air of mystery. People questioned the method and speculated about her next move. There was more interest in Venus than, say, the 15th-ranked player in the world on the professional tour.

Move forward to 2000 and it seems as though less of Venus might create more demand. She has not played a match this year, missing from the tour since November.

If she did take the rest of the year off, there would be no shortage of speculation and interest about her future. Venus Returns, Venus Speaks. . . .

We’ve seen this sort of frenzy happen with other players, of course, under very different circumstances. Monica Seles skipped Wimbledon in 1991 and that strange absence remains one of the great unexplained tennis mysteries.

There always is a heightened interest in a Garbo-like departure. Certainly no Venus on the tour is more fascinating, more mysterious than a downcast No. 3-ranked player who had to watch her younger sister win a Grand Slam title first.

Venus has said very little herself. She answered the telephone and spoke briefly to the Tampa Tribune last week and indicated she might return to the tour shortly. Also, at least one player wasn’t buying the retirement rhetoric from Richard.

“I wouldn’t take anything he says too seriously,” Lindsay Davenport said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw her playing again soon.”

DAVIS CUP I

Alex O’Brien was being stretched and pulled by a therapist when he talked on the phone between matches last week at the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. He was able to catch his breath enough to throw down the gauntlet, or racket, perhaps, for this week’s Davis Cup quarterfinal against the Czech Republic at the Great Western Forum.

O’Brien and his doubles partner, Jared Palmer, were selected Tuesday by U.S. captain John McEnroe to play against the Czechs, on the strength of their recent doubles title at Indian Wells. Palmer and O’Brien also are the top two doubles players in the world.

“We have no excuses now,” O’Brien said. “They’ve thrown two guys together before and it hadn’t worked. It’s time to step up and get the job done. It’s always been kind of weird because I didn’t know who I was going to play with.

“Sometimes, I’ve practiced with one guy and played with someone else. Or I practiced and didn’t play. But I wouldn’t trade my Davis Cup experiences for anything.”

This match will be special for O’Brien because he has spent a lot of time in the Los Angeles area with his girlfriend and also has been training with Pete Sampras.

“L.A. is just one of those crazy places,” said O’Brien, who is from Amarillo, Texas. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere. The whole Hollywood scene. We have the No. 1 and No. 2 singles players [Sampras and Andre Agassi] and the top two doubles players. It’s pretty amazing. I look at this team and say, ‘Wow, I’m part of it.’ ”

In something of a Davis Cup preview, O’Brien and Palmer defeated the Czech team of Jiri Novak and David Rikl, 6-3, 6-3, Thursday in the quarterfinals at Ericsson.

“We need to fly John [McEnroe] in to do some screaming so we can get used to it,” Palmer said before Thursday’s match.

Palmer and O’Brien work well off the court too, firing off one-liners in news conferences. They were asked why they are such a good team.

O’Brien: “I’d say I have pretty much all the talent.”

Palmer: “I’m just along for the ride.”

O’Brien: “I whipped an overhead at the net the other day. This is after he made four volleys. I hit maybe one volley, then whipped an overhead. He volleyed to the wrong guy in the back court. I informed him that it wasn’t my job to put balls away or to volley.”

DAVIS CUP II

McEnroe and some of his team members will conduct a clinic for youngsters on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Darby Park in Inglewood. The clinic participants are members of the USA Tennis National Junior Tennis League and the Los Angeles Safe Passage Foundation.