网坛姐妹花.doc

13 All in the Family Jewels Venus Williams, 20, was beating up on1 her little sister, which is what big sisters do. But Venus is, it should be noted, a sweeter 2 big sister than most. As she administered the thrashing3 in broadly public view at Wimbledon4, she was hardly merciless5. She sat on her chair during changeovers and worried, “ Does Serena have enough sports drink?” Guess not. Serena, 18, sagged6 in the second-set tie-breaker7 and closed with a double fault. Final score:6-2, 7-6(3), in a fraught8 semifinal match marked by mediocre9 tennis, great theater10 and almost unbearable intensity. “ Its really bitter,” said Venus in the aftermath. “ But someone had to move on.” She did and, in the final, beat another big-hitting Californian, defending champ Lindsay Davenport, 6-3, 7-6(3). And so now we know. Every important mens golf tournament for a while will be won by a guy named Woods, and every important womens tennis tournament will go to a gal11 named Williams. “ The future is now,” former player-turned-pundit12 Pam Shriver says. “ They could be on top for 10 years.” 　　What both sisters possess to a degree unapproachable by their colleagues is immense power and glorious13 athleticism. Davenport and Mary Pierce hit the ball hard but cant move like the Williamses. Martina Hingis hits the ball well but, despite a better effort in the gym, cant match punch14 for punch. Only yesterday it looked as if Hingis could be the next Steffi Graf, but she has been knocked out15 of the past four Grand Slam events by S. Williams, Davenport, Pierce and V.Williams. That averages out to an Amazon of 6 ft., 158 lbs.16, with the capacity to hit a serve, as Venus did against Serena, of 121 m.p.h. To any little girls inspired to take up the game by Venus win: forget it. In the new millennium, big girls only need apply. Theres another advantage for the Williamses. Tennis is an individual game, and they come as a team. As Hingis lamented17, she often gets softened up18 by one, fini