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In one of the most boring matches in Wimbledon history, Serena Williams took her fourth All England Championship today over Russian Vera Svonoreva in straight sets. We like Serena, and we're happy for her win, but despite the fawning tennis commentators' glee over "what the Williams sisters have brought to the game", what the Williams sisters have brought to the game is exactly one of the reasons why tennis is fast losing popularity in America as a sport. The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, have dominated the women's game for a decade now, but they did it by serving harder than the other women and simply by whacking the hell out of the ball with a screaming, (literally), ferocity. Deft touch? No. A beautiful net game? No. Finesse of any kind? Uh... no. Their games are ugly and brutish, and they rob the women's game of any beauty or wily finesse, which used to be the only reason to watch women's tennis. They've succeeded in doing to women's tennis what Pete Sampras did to men's tennis, which was to make it all about who could serve the hardest, and thereby making the game incredibly boring. Luckily for men's tennis, someone named Roger Federer came along right after Sampras and reminded the world that tennis is at its most entertaining when a player can alternate power with soft touch and really smart groundstrokes of various speeds. Federer will be remembered most for how he moved about the court like a graceful dancer, as if he was floating on air, unlike Serena Williams who, at times, awkwardly clomps about the court like a Clydesdale horse. Luckily, the Williams Sisters, at 30 and 28, are nearing the end of their careers, and here's to hoping that some new female champions will emerge who will bring some interest back to women's tennis. And please, Jesus, let's hope that tomorrow's men's final between Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych will be more interesting.
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