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Bouncing beads galore
Venus outlasts Serena in French Open mixed doubles final
Posted: Friday June 05, 1998 09:16 PM
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Venus Williams (left), with Justin Gimselstob, beat younger sister Serena,
partnered with Luis Lobo (AP) |
PARIS (AP) -- It was a bit confusing. The chair umpire kept announcing "Game Mademoiselle Williams" or "Advantage Mademoiselle Williams" throughout the match.
But it was unclear who he was referring to.
There were occasional bead-clearing breaks on the court. And the winner and the loser could both say "Hi, Mom" to the same person.
That's what happens when the Williams sisters play on opposite sides.
Venus Williams, with Justin Gimselstob, beat younger sister Serena, partnered with Luis Lobo, 6-4, 6-4 in the mixed doubles final of the French Open on Friday.
It was the second consecutive Grand Slam victory for Venus and Gimselstob, who in January won the Australian Open.
"We're closer to a Grand Slam than a lot of other people," Venus said. "No other singles players are in the running to win both titles."
Venus knows why she wanted Gimelstob as a partner.
"I needed to play with someone with similar height so I can feel comfortable," said Venus, who is 6-foot-1 1/2. "And the other person would also feel comfortable and not lose confidence or any manhood."
Serena, with green beads, took the early advantage over her older sister, with blue beads, opening a 4-1 lead and a few chances to make it 5-1, with points delayed because of bead pickup duty.
Then Venus and her partner settled down and took the next five games to win the first set.
The second set went on serve until the seventh game, when Serena double faulted at game point to put Venus ahead 4-3.
Venus held serve the next game to go up 5-3, and the winners maintained the advantage the rest of the way.
Next is the Wimbledon mixed doubles.
"We practiced together once this time and twice in Australia," Gimelstob said. "Maybe we will practice at Wimbledon."
The sisters have met in tournaments only twice in their singles careers, in the second round of this year's Australian Open and in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open. Venus won both matches.
Venus said she didn't play women's doubles here with Serena because of the slowness of the clay, but looks forward to a partnership with her eventually.
Venus' share of the $58,000 mixed doubles prize and Serena's share of the $35,000 runner-up prize make a considerable donation to the Williams family, who were in the stands.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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