Ah, Serena...

Irrelevant to what you were trying to argue. Serena sure the hell isn't the greatest ever; she'd be lucky to be top five. You should lose points for not being healthy.

 

Serena reacts to dooley's assessment:

 

The last major that was won this year was won by Serena and it was won against Safina, period end of story. Its pretty damn obvious who the better player is. We can talk about her class all we want, but you can't debate what goes down on the court.

 

It's one match. If Serena can do that several times against Safina, then you might have something. And what goes down on the court is that Safina shows up to do her job much more than Serena does. Let's see if Serena would be so great doing 25-30 tourneys a year.

 

I'm sorry, but that doesn't take away the fact that Serena is the better player for me. Win some majors if you want to sit at the grown up table.

 

Becoming only the 19th woman to rise to the No. 1 ranking since the WTA initiated the system in 1975 more than qualifies Safina to sit at the grown-up table, Grand Slam titles or not.

Fact is, Safina right now is ranked No. 1. If it's not a big deal to Williams, why is she bitching about it? If it is a big deal to her, she should get her ass out on the court and prove that she's the best. Pretty simple if you ask me.

 

The rankings are what they are. Like I said, if it's such a huge deal to Serena that she's not No. 1, she should do something about it other than complain.

Not that she's not entitled to her opinion, because she obviously is, but she's also in a position to do something about it rather than just talk. The proof is in the pudding.

 

I didn't read it as complaining. I'm guessing she was asked about Safina being No. 1, and she responded.

 

"We all know who the real number one is," Williams told a news conference at the Italian Open on Monday. "Quite frankly, I'm the best in the world."

Maybe not a complaint by the precise definition, but it is a pretty clear statement that she thinks the ranking system is bullshit.

To which I say, prove it on the court. Yes, she won the Aussie Open, but it ended on Jan. 31 and she's won nothing since.

The ranking system as I see it rewards consistency over an entire year for the entire WTA Tour, not just the Slams - hardly ridiculous, unless I'm missing something. If Safina is No. 1 in the rankings based on her performance over the past year, more power to her.

 

Great. We should all hope every athlete learns to be as banal, and talk so much and say so little, as Tiger Woods. That'll make for some exciting times. Now whose words do you think match more closely to their actual feelings? Do you think Tiger Woods privately is willing to concede Harrington is better?

This is one truly bizarre discussion. It's really no different from Memphis players saying it's BS that Duke is No. 1 in the polls or whatever. It also reminds me of when everyone piled on Manny Ramirez in '07 when he said he'd just go out there and play and not care whether he wins or loses. He was just being honest and it turns out that was exactly the attitude he and the Sox needed, and one that athletes seem to have no problem understanding in each other. But people who don't like Serena because she dares to have interests outside the tennis world, they have big problems with it.

You know who finished No. 1 in the world rankings last year? Jelena Jankovic. The 2008 U.S. Open was her first Grand Slam final. You know who beat her? Serena Williams.

 

Oh hell, screw all the other tournaments and just base the rankings on the grand slams. Make the other 30 or so events practice tournaments.

And it's fine for Serena to have other interests in life. But as long as tennis is her main profession, she should actually participate in it more than occasionally. And god knows what the computer rankings really mean, but if Serena can't or won't put in the time, then she deserves to pay for it in the rankings, and doesn't deserve to impugn Safina's status.