Williams Lets Her Actions Do Talking

Venus Williams has been swaddled in--or is that swallowed by?--controversy for the last two weeks.

And yet, despite the turmoil and nagging injuries, she defeated her nemesis, Martina Hingis, 6-3, 7-6 (6), in Thursday’s semifinals at the Ericsson Open, thus attaining her best tennis ranking, No. 2, in the world.

Speeding away from Hingis or Lindsay Davenport is one thing. Walking away from controversy may prove to be more difficult.

Especially with players on the tour criticizing the behavior of her father, Richard.

Earlier this week, Richard said booing during Serena’s final, after Venus had suddenly pulled out of the sisters’ semifinal because of knee tendinitis at Indian Wells, had been racially motivated.

Davenport called the controversy something of a circus act.

Hingis said that kind of comment puts heavy pressure on Venus and Serena and suggested that the press often pulled its punches regarding the family.

And remember Elena Dementieva? She’s the Russian teenager who kick-started the whole mess at Indian Wells by saying Richard would decide whether Serena or Venus would win.

Dementieva, who made the comment matter-of-factly, now says she “was kidding.” This revision of history was delivered after a chat with seasoned public relations handlers.

“That was a good precursor, huh?” Davenport said. “Richard seems to be the one causing the commotion and I don’t know if he does it on purpose or not. I think it is just that he talks and [the sisters] have to deal with the consequences, which is unfortunate.”

Dementieva’s semifinal later Thursday against Jennifer Capriati was postponed until today because of thunderstorms, as was the men’s quarterfinal between Andre Agassi and Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, who led, 3-1, before play was stopped. Earlier, Patrick Rafter of Australia had little trouble against rising star Roger Federer of Switzerland, 6-3, 6-1.

But Hingis versus Venus Williams dominated the proceedings. Despite their youth--each is 20--this was their 18th match. It was only the second time Williams has defeated Hingis in straight sets. Hingis leads the series, 10-8, but Williams has won three of their last four matches.

The match was dictated by Williams. That’s what happens when you hit 51 winners and make 51 unforced errors. Despite erratic serving, Williams took a 4-0 lead and it began to look as though the match would be the opposite of Hingis’ 6-1, 6-1 victory in their most recent meeting at the Australian Open.

In the second set, Hingis settled down on what was a difficult windy day. They stayed on serve until Williams was broken in the ninth game. She promptly broke Hingis back and it eventually came down to the tiebreaker.

Hingis led, 5-3, in the tiebreaker, reaching set point at 6-5, which Williams erased with an overhead. Two points later, Williams won after Hingis pushed a backhand wide.

Williams was cognizant of her past against Hingis.

“I didn’t always back it up, but today I did,” she said. “I guess I am getting a lot older and wiser.”

Said Hingis, “She always comes up with great tournaments. So the other question is can she keep it up? Can her body keep it up? You see all the bandages, like the wrist and legs, and last week she retired [with the knee problem], so you don’t know. I don’t know. It’s about her. But if she plays well, it is definitely going to be a race.”

The last-minute withdrawal by Venus at Indian Wells angered fans, tournament officials and the televising ESPN. It also prompted questions about the family’s credibility when it came to injuries and raised more suspicions of match-fixing between the sisters. Venus and Serena and their father have all emphatically denied those allegations.

After the booing at Indian Wells, Richard shot back, telling Inside Tennis magazine, “Serena isn’t playing in America today. She’s playing in South Africa.”

He continued along those lines in Florida, calling the booing “the worst act of prejudice I’ve seen since they killed Martin Luther King.”

Hingis called those assertions of racism “total nonsense.”

“Every time I go on the court, I could say it’s racism against me because the public is out there, the crowds and the fans are usually for Americans,” she said. “If I play here in this country, it’s like you’ve got the sisters, Lindsay, Monica [Seles], Jennifer [Capriati] and half of Mary [Pierce] is American too.

“So I am standing alone up there, the only European.”

Venus rejected the notion that her father’s influence was less than beneficial.

“Who knows? Maybe lots of bad things could have happened to me,” she said. “Maybe because of tennis I have stayed so focused in my life. So I am really thankful and I have nothing to say badly against him because he loves me. He wants the best for me and has done everything he can--he’d give his right arm.”