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Much ado about nothing? Serena denies rift with sister, eludes questions on love life
PARIS (AP) -- Serena Williams doesn't understand the latest controversy that has engulfed the Williams family after she and sister Venus pulled out of their doubles match at the French Open. Venus, who was eliminated in the first round, flew home to Florida and the abrupt departure stirred rumors of a sibling rivalry. On Thursday, Serena said there was no rift between the sisters and insisted that they withdrew from doubles so she could concentrate on singles. Serena, seeded sixth, won her second-round match against Slovenian qualifier Katarina Srebotnik 6-0, 7-5. "I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal of this," said Serena, who is recovering from an injured knee that has kept her out of competition since the Ericsson Open in March. "It would just be too many matches." "The doctor and everyone just don't think that I should go that far," Serena said, adding that her knee was "90 percent" better and she felt fit enough to "last the matches" at Roland Garros. Top-seeded Martina Hingis, who has feuded with the sisters in the past, this time rallied to their side. "If you lose the first round, I think you don't want to stay around much longer," Hingis said when asked about the departure of Venus, the No. 2 seed. "You don't want to just stick around and watch everyone else." Hingis advanced to the third round Thursday with a straight-set victory over Colombia's Catalina Castano. Controversy has followed the Williams family from one tournament to the next. At Indian Wells, Calif., Venus withdrew just minutes before her semifinal against Serena, fueling speculation that she ducked the match. The crowd booed the family and father Richard said some of the jeers were racially motivated. At Serena's post-match press conference, there was a moment of tension when she thought a reporter had asked if the sisters' tennis had "fallen off" rather than the possibility that they had a "falling out." "Would you like to play me?" she retorted, then cleared the air by giggling with glee at the notion of bad blood between the two most famous sisters in tennis. "We never argue," Serena said. "Last argument we had was when I was about 6. She was 7. We were arguing over a typewriter." She didn't elaborate. "We always get along." "For us, family is number one, family is important. It lasts longer than a sport," she said. "Five, 10 years from now, I'll be gone, there will be someone else. But she'll still be my sister." Then there was more to giggle about -- like reports that Serena and Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington were an item. "You guys are making me giggle. That type of stuff makes me giggle," she said through a fit of laughter. So, what's the answer? "The answer?" Long pause. Big smile. "No comment." Serena did say, however, she believed it was important to have a life outside of "tennis, tennis, tennis, tennis." "If you just have a myopic view, things can get nuts and crazy," Serena said. "I think you should also, you know, have a little fun, but not too much. For me, my career always comes first."
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