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French Open Notebook

Williams sisters have trouble telling themselves apart

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Posted: Friday May 28, 1999 05:13 PM

How to tell the Williams sisters apart? After Friday, Venus was still in the tournament, while Serena (above) was knocked out by Mary Joe Fernandez. AP

PARIS (AP) -- Keeping track of who they play next is not easy for the Williams sisters. They tend to get confused.

Venus Williams thought she was playing Mary Joe Fernandez Friday, but it was Serena. (She lost.)

"I realized I was looking at the wrong Williams," Venu said. "I figured it out after a while, or else I would have missed my match."

This isn't the first time the sisters have confused their draws, Venus said. The samething happened last year at Wimbledon.

"We didn't know until the day we were supposed to play," she said, "It was like: Oh wow, that's my opponent!"

Soccer fan

Spanish player Alberto Berasategui has proved to be a knowledgeable soccer fan. After coming back from two sets down to beat No. 7-seeded Tim Henman, he compared his win to the miraculous win of Manchester United over Bayern Munich in the European Champions league final.

Bayern Munich led 1-0 going into the final minutes of the match when Manchester United came back and scored two goals just minutes apart.

"I thought that coming back in such a difficult match, and after losing when he broke me, my face was going to be like the fans from Bayern," said Berasategui. "But know I think [Henman's] face is like the ones from Bayern Munich."

Clown of the court

Andrew Ilie, the entertaining Australian player, knows how to get attention.

He made crowds notice him this week by tearing off his shirt like "The Incredible Hulk" when he won a match on Wednesday.

During his match Friday against Dominik Hrbaty, he made faces and gestures to entertain the crowd.

Tennis players love his antics too. "Even in the locker room, when he's playing, it's on TV the whole time in the locker room," said Ilie's compatriot Patrick Rafter.

Rafter said that although Ilie was "a little bit eccentric" he could be good for tennis.

"I think he's fantastic for the game and the best thing that could happen for the game is for this guy to be a top 10 player," he said.

Hrbaty wasn't fazed by Ilie's antics and won the match. Afterwards the Slovak was nonchalant about the effect of Ilie's behavior.

"He can break a racket on his head, I don't mind," Hrbaty said.

 

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