Justin Henin defeated Serena Williams at the US Open. But judging from Serena's response, it would appear that Henin did not have to do anything special to defeat her. For a woman, who appears to depend so much on being in the limelight, she definitely has very poor manners. This is not an aberration. This is a common sight at press conferences after losses. I hope her sponsors pull out of their deals with her. Maybe then she would learn to acknowledge that the opponent across the net may have had something to do with it.
Specifically, this is what she had to say about Justine Henin's performance: "I just think she made a lot of lucky shots."
Contrast her responses with how Novak Djokovic talked about Roger Federer after the men's final, specifically in response to a loaded question where he was asked:
Q. You're talking about you being unlucky. Yesterday Davydenko said of Roger when asked, what's the one thing Roger does best, he said, Lucky. There were a couple of set points of his that the ball literally landed on the line. Were you feeling, Wow, this guy really is lucky?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: As I was saying before, next to all those elements, all the positive strengths you have in your game, in your mind, you need a bit of luck. I cannot say that he is No. 1 player of the world because he's lucky (laughter). You know, that's a bit strange to say. You know, he's a big worker, very talented, a great player. That's why he deserves to be there where he is. But, of course, he is lucky and he gets these lines and lucky shots, I can say, because he's going for them. He's not trying to play safe. He's really being aggressive.
Djokovic is just 20 years old and had just lost in his first Grand Slam final after holding numerous opportunities in a match that he dominated for extended periods of time. Yet, not an ounce of bitterness exuded from him. You can read the entire transcript of his interview here.
Serena should be made to read that interview. Maybe she will learn something from it.
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