Three-times champion Williams, whose day at the All England Club began by curtsying to Queen Elizabeth on the players’ terrace, was clearly not amused by Wimbledon organisers’ decision to banish her to the sunken Court Two.
“I don’t think I should be out there,” the world number one told reporters after booking a last-32 date with Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova.
“Naturally I thought, ‘Well, why wasn’t I on Centre or at least No. 1? I guess they wanted to put Roger (Federer) and (world number 21) Sam (Querrey) and everyone else there. I’m over talking about it,” she added abruptly while indicting she was no longer prepared to be quizzed on the topic.
As the reigning champion, Williams has every right to feel slighted as players such as Federer — who in fact was not even on the schedule for Day Four of the championships — 2008 champion Rafael Nadal and British number one Andy Murray have not played away from the two main showcourts for a number of years.
It was hence little wonder she arrived for her match looking very angry and Chakvetadze was soon on the receiving end of a barrage of brutal groundstrokes.
Chakvetadze raised the loudest cheers from the crowd when she finally ended a losing streak of 11 games but the smile on her face was soon wiped off as Williams bashed down a winner to end the Russian’s torment after 49 fleeting minutes.
After bagging the win, the enthusiastic reception she received from the crowd went some way towards healing William’s dented pride.
“The only way to console me was... I just saw so many kids, these little girls, these little boys.
“A lot of these people can’t get into the Centre Court ... that definitely made up for it, to see fans I wouldn’t normally see.”
But earlier in the day, her promise to show the Queen a curtsy “she will definitely never forget” went slighty awry.
“I feel like I had the number one curtsy and then I just got nervous,” she said as she burst into a fit of giggles.
“My bow didn’t go the way I wanted. I got nervous. So I couldn’t get as low as I wanted to.”
Williams meeting with the Queen, who was visiting the All England Club for the first time in 33 years, lasted all of 30 seconds but it seems the American just could not shake off the nerves.
“I was supposed to say, ‘Your Majesty’. I totally choked. I was like, ‘Hey, nice to meet you’, total American style. And then she started talking. Then I was like ‘Your Majesty’ while she was talking.
“Maybe she’ll remember me,” grinned the self-styled ‘drama queen of tennis’.
TCL Electronics (1070.HK), the world's Top 2 TV brand and Top 1 98-inch TV brand, unveiled its latest line-up of products spanning various categories tailored for the Middle East and Africa market at an exclusive launch event in the heart of Istanbul, Turkey. Furthermore, TCL highlighted its robust partnership with Arsenal Football Club as the Official Regional Consumer Electronics Partner during the event, which included a notable appearance by Arsenal Legend Martin Keown
The most recent fatal crash of a Bell 212 was in UAE in September last year
The American birdies the 18th for a one-shot victory over LIV Golf's DeChambeau to reach a career-best second spot in the world rankings
UAE President also extended his heartfelt sympathies to the grieving families
Raisi died in a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border
In the first quarter of 2024, all banks in the country reported remarkable profit growth
The head of state was known for his hardline stance on national protests and nuclear talks
Rates of the precious metal have risen over Dh18 per gram in May
iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
