Venus ignores ‘gorilla’ row
Print Edition
SEVEN-TIME grand slam winner Venus Williams yesterday brushed off a remark made about her at the Australian Open which led to a TV commentator being stood down by broadcaster ESPN.
Doug Adler, doing commentary on the African-American 13th seed’s second-round match against Swiss Stefanie Voegele on Wednesday, provoked outrage on social media when he was taken to have described Williams charging “like a gorilla”. Adler, a former tennis professional, said he had said “guerrilla”.
Williams was questioned about the comment after thrashing China’s Duan Yingying 6-1, 6-0 to reach the fourth round of the season’s opening grand slam for a 10th time.
“All I can say is it’s been a wonderful, wonderful career for me, full of positives. That’s what I focus on. I mean, what else can I do? It’s a beautiful life. That’s how I feel about every single thing,” the 36-year-old told reporters. “I pay attention and address situations that are noteworthy. That’s been my past record, clearly.”
ESPN said Adler “should have been more careful in his word selection”.
“He apologized and we have removed him from his remaining assignments,” the broadcaster said in a statement.
Williams despatched Duan in 59 minutes and will play world No. 181 Mona Barthel of Germany in the fourth round.
“She (Duan) can really hit the ball and I’m lucky to have more experience out there today,” said Williams, after spending less than 60 minutes on court.
Remarkably Duan, ranked 87, admitted ahead of the match that she’d never seen Williams play, and would be relying heavily on her coach’s guidance.
Williams, the oldest player in the draw, exploited Duan’s weak serve and apparent nerves, racing to a quick break in the opening set, with no way back for the Chinese star. She won a consolation game but that was as good as it got.
Despite the loss, it was an encouraging tournament for the Chinese No. 5, the last player from her country standing, having reached a grand slam third round for the first time.
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