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Stuck in second Serena only mildly disappointed after loss
Updated: Saturday September 08, 2001 11:24 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- When one of the toughest days of her life was over at last, Serena Williams walked to the net with an air of resignation Saturday night, hugged her sister, Venus, and heard the U.S. Open champion say, "I love you." It wasn't the typical end to a tennis match, but then, this was no typical tennis match. With sisters playing for a Grand Slam championship for the first time since 1884, Saturday was an emotional roller coaster for Serena. She practiced with Venus in the morning, went shopping with her mother in the afternoon and walked side-by-side with her sister on to the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She wanted to win, of course. She often has said she loves that feeling. Losing, though, wasn't exactly terrible. Not this 6-2, 6-4 loss. "I'm disappointed, but not much," Serena said. "Venus won. I'm still young. I'm only 19." Still, there was the matter of the kid sister looking up to the big sister -- again. Venus had won four of their previous five official meetings. And now she had another one. "For younger sisters, we always look up to our big sisters," Serena said. "And we always want to win." Serena said there were no nerves for her on this windy night at the National Tennis Center. "I wasn't nervous at all," she said. "I've been in the finals before at the U.S. Open." Not like this, though. Not with her sister across the net, running down her shots, returning them from start to finish. Serena made 36 unforced errors and Venus needed just seven winners to capture her second straight U.S. Open and fourth Grand Slam title. Serena remains stuck on one, the 1999 U.S. Open championship which was the first Slam title for the kids who grew up in Compton, Calif., playing each other in the backyard, pretending each match was another Grand Slam. Those matches were easier than this one. "I was fighting the wind," Serena said. "I was fighting myself and I was fighting Venus. There were too many fights going on." Afterward, Serena remembered the tender moment at the net. "I'm really emotional," she said. "It was so deep. She was so sincere. That really touches one. I was emotional there." She said that during the match, she tried to put aside sisterly feelings. This was, after all, the championship match of the season's final Grand Slam. "Afterward there are a lot of emotions involved," she said. "During it, you're out to compete. You both want to win. We've worked 15 years for this." Serena said playing Venus was easier now than when this rivalry started at the Australian Open in 1998. "After the first time, it was easier," she said. "I really have no problem anymore." So, the loss was not as painful as it might have been. "In the past, I'd be disappointed," she said. "I've grown as a competitor. You take them as they come. There's always next time, next year and next week. "I have a lot of room for improvement. I've got a tournament next week and I'm going to win that tournament. You haven't seen anything yet." She knew, though, that the very fact sisters were playing each other took this match beyond the ordinary. "I think older sisters and brothers wanted Venus to win and younger sisters and brothers wanted me to win," she said.
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