Tennis superstar Serena Williams is in Kenya for a three-day charity tour as a global ambassador for HP. Serena, who was accompanied by her mother, will open a secondary school after her. Her foundation, which concentrates mainly on education projects for the poor, has set up another school in Senegal. Serena was on a similar trip in Johannesburg, South Africa, working with the Starfishgreatheart Charity for orphans infected with HIV.
(Photo by Stafford Ondego)
I watched the first set of Serena’s match with Li Na at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart . She took it 6-0. So prematurely deciding the outcome of the match, I changed the channel to CNN with a hope to watch something more amusing (aka something said or done by the U.S. vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin). Needless to say, I was quite surprised to read this final scoreline 6-0, 1-6, 4-6. Jelena Jankovic will take over her No.1 ranking next week. Read more on the match at Women’s Tennis Blog.
From Publishers Weekly:
At least three publishers are currently vying for the rights to a book by nine-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams; offers are reportedly approaching $1 million and Suzanne Gluck at William Morris is said to be planning on meetings with the top three bidders. The memoir by Williams, who just won her third U.S. Open last week, will include elements about race and her faith; according to two publishers who passed on the 30-page proposal given the expected steep price tag. Sample chapters included one on a searing experience she had at a tournament a few years ago, and another on her trip to Africa. Veteran collaborator Dan Paisner, who’s worked on books with Montel Williams, Ed Koch, George Pataki and Whoopi Goldberg, among others, is co-writing.
Serena’s sister Venus sold a book to Dawn Davis at HarperCollins’s Amistad imprint in July just after beating Serena to win her fifth Wimbledon title; The Coach Matters: Life Lessons Beyond the Playing Field is slated to be published in summer 2010, so readers may be in for another battle of the sisters.
Venus and Serena Williams will face off Wednesday to see who advances to the semifinals at the U.S. Open. Here is their head to head score:
|
Year |
Event |
Surface |
Rnd |
Winner |
Score |
||
| 1998 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN | HARD (O) | R64 | Venus | 7-6(4) 6-1 | ||
| 1998 | ITALIAN OPEN | CLAY (O) | Q | Venus | 6-4 6-2 | ||
| 1999 | MIAMI | HARD (O) | F | Venus | 6-1 4-6 6-4 | ||
| 1999 | GRAND SLAM CUP | HARD (I) | F | Serena | 6-1 3-6 6-3 | ||
| 2000 | WIMBLEDON | GRASS (O) | S | Venus | 6-2 7-6(3) | ||
| 2001 | INDIAN WELLS | HARD (O) | S | Serena | W/O | ||
| 2001 | US OPEN | HARD (O) | F | Venus | 6-2 6-4 | ||
| 2002 | MIAMI | HARD (O) | S | Serena | 6-2 6-2 | ||
| 2002 | FRENCH OPEN | CLAY (O) | F | Serena | 7-5 6-3 | ||
| 2002 | WIMBLEDON | GRASS (O) | F | Serena | 7-6(4) 6-3 | ||
| 2002 | US OPEN | HARD (O) | F | Serena | 6-4 6-3 | ||
| 2003 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN | HARD (O) | F | Serena | 7-6(4) 3-6 6-4 | ||
| 2003 | WIMBLEDON | GRASS (O) | F | Serena | 4-6 6-4 6-2 | ||
| 2005 | MIAMI | HARD (O) | Q | Venus | 6-1 7-6(8) | ||
| 2005 | US OPEN | HARD (O) | R16 | Venus | 7-6(5) 6-2 | ||
| 2008 | BANGALORE | HARD (O) | S | Serena | 6-3 3-6 7-6(4) | ||
| 2008 | WIMBLEDON | GRASS (O) | F | Venus | 7-5 6-4 |
Sony Ericsson Open in photos…
Tennis players Serena Williams her sister Venus Williams pose in traditional Indian Sarees along with Jelena Jankovich Serbia and other tennis players during a function on the eve of the WTA Bangalore Open Championship 2008 in Bangalore March 2, 2008. The World Tennis Association (WTA) Bangalore Open Championship begins on March 3, 2008.
Isn’t saree beautiful. I had a Jewish coworker who used to wear various colorful saris at work. It was great!
(Photo: STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images)
If you have seen Serena Williams’ match against Jelena Jankovic (3-6, 4-6) , you already know that something was wrong with Serena. She didn’t move well, looked tired, frustrated, uninspired, and erratic. No fist pumping or “Serena-style-fired-up-staring” at the opponent. What was wrong with Serena? Was it mental? Was it physical? Both? During the match, the ESPN commentator Pam Shriver ran (literally) to talk to Serena’s camp to get some update on what’s happening. She was told Serena did have treatment to her right quad before the match, but nothing was serious. Serena’s explanation at the press conference, didn’t shed much light either as to what her problem was. But she was obviously not 100%. However, after reading her interview, it seemed to me the explanation was obvious.
You were quite listless in the first set there. Wasn’t an injury or a problem with movement?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I was having some issues, but I don’t like to make excuses. We won’t discuss those.
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