Serena Williams' Outburst Ends U.S. Open Semi-Final Match Against Unranked Kim Clijsters, Lineswoman Says She Felt Threatened by Tirade, Really?

Oh no. Say it ain't so. Serena Williams walked toward the line judge at the semi-final match last night at the U.S. Open screaming, cursing and shaking a tennis ball in the official's direction and threatened to "shove it down" her throat. Whoa. Serena lost it completely. On match point, the defending champion, was penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct, which was a bizarre and ugly end that gave an upset victory to the unranked Kim Clijsters. Sadly, no one will remember any of the shots struck in this match, they will only remember the Serena Williams meltdown and the dramatic way the match ended. Sorry, but that wasn't a proper call by the line judge, as evidenced from the crowd's booing. Serena Williams should be fined, but certainly not suspended from pro tennis, as suggested by Bill Dwyre of the LA Times. He said her tirade "went well beyond the McEnroe tirade stage into body language and direct verbiage that was threatening and ugly." Wow, I didn't think John McEnroe's tirades could have been portrayed as less menacing than Serena Williams.'

With Williams serving at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set, she faulted on her first serve. On the second serve, a line judge called a foot fault, making it a double-fault -- a call rarely, if ever, seen at that stage of any match, let alone the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament. That made the score 15-40, putting Clijsters one point from victory.

Instead of stepping to the baseline to serve again, Williams went over and shouted and cursed at the line judge, pointing at her and thrusting the ball toward her. "If I could, I would take this f****ing ball and shove it down your f***ing throat," Williams said. She continued yelling at the line judge, and went back over, shaking her racket in the official's direction. Source: Huffington Post

Sorry, Serena but no matter how angry you were at the call, there was no reason to become verbally abusive and menacing in the process. Yes, John McEnroe went on several tirades during his professional tennis career, but girl, that's even a stretch for you. I am equally amazed that the lineswoman felt threatened by Serena Williams. Could that have been because a black woman was shouting down an Asian damsel in distress? Please. Somehow there is an element of race seeping into this incident. Suddenly Serena Williams is being held to a higher standard than everyone else. She deserves to be fined, but I scarcely believe she was any more of a threat to the lineswoman that John McEnroe was during his many, many tirades on tennis courts around the world.

Photo credit:  Serena Williams, Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Venus Williams Eliminated from U.S. Open by Former Rival Kim Clijsters, Who Returns After Two-Year Absence from Professional Tennis

Here's a blast from the past in the U.S. Open -- Kim Clijsters. It turns out that rivalry between Clijsters and Venus Williams manifested itself today at the U.S. Open. Venus was eliminated by Clijsters, a wild card entry, played a shaky match, at best, which ended into a fairy tale victory -- 6-0, 0-6, 6-4 victory. Nonetheless, it was a stunning defeat for Venus Williams and a remarkable feat in the return of Clijsters from a two-year absence from professional tennis. She seems to have recovered from several chronic injuries that led to her retirement at age 24 and saw the birth of her 18-month-old daughter Jada.

The match-up lived up to its wild anticipation, with Clijsters advancing to play Li Na of China in the quarterfinals, and preserving a potential semifinal match-up with Serena Williams, which would be very interesting, since I consider Serena to be a more dominant player than her sister.

Serena Williams was more successful than her sister today. She pounded her way past No. 22 seed Daniela Hantuchova, 6-2, 6-0, with powerful ground strokes and serves, that only Serena Williams can deliver.

Photo credit: Kim Clijsters Getty Images