I watched the Serena Williams US Open semifinal match on Friday and I was utterly devastated. Serena was going for the historical calendar Grand Slam, which would have been Grand Slams at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open. Serena won the first semi-final set against Roberta Vinci, then two things happened: Serena started to fall apart and Vinci started playing even better. Vinci won the second set. People were concerned, but hell, Serena had been there before. Of course she was going to pull it out. Of course she was going to rise to the challenge and rally for the third set. And then she didn’t. And Vinci, ranked #43 in the world, went on to win the third set and the match, ending Serena’s quest (for now) for another calendar Grand Slam and her 22nd major title, which would have matched the number of titles as Steffi Graff.
If it helps for all of the hardcore Serena-stans, Vinci lost the final to Flavia Pennetta, another Italian. Pennetta retired just after her US Open win, which is crazy. After Pennetta won, Serena tweeted this:
@flavia_pennetta congrats I'm so happy you won. You deserved it. I am also happy for the rest of your life's journey. I will miss your smile
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) September 12, 2015
Which is either classy as hell or shady. Or both? Like, Serena didn’t tweet to Roberta Vinci, the woman who beat her (Serena). But I’m choosing to go with “classy” because Serena is a good sport and she had nice things to say about Vinci after their game, and Serena simply knows Pennetta a lot better than she knows Vinci.
But none of that is the point of this story. The point is… poor Serena. There were moments in that semifinal match where Serena realized that the game was getting away from her and she looked like she was about to cry. Is she still the #GOAT? Of course she is. So when she lost, all of the stans were looking for some excuse, any excuse to explain it. And guess what they settled on? DRAKE. You see, Drake was in the stands, rooting on his alleged girlfriend. The camera panned to him several times. And Drake has a history of being the kiss of death for favored athletes and teams. So… Twitter went crazy with #BlameDrake stuff. Someone even said Drake is to Serena was Jessica Simpson was to Tony Romo. Which is harsh, but funny as hell.
For what it’s worth, Serena doesn’t blame Drake. About 30 minutes after she lost on Friday, she left the stadium with Drake.
Here’s a sampling of funny tweets:
Drake should stay off his girl's tour #blamedrake
— DANIEL LORD (@DNLRD) September 11, 2015
Drake has cursed Kentucky, the Raptors, and now Serena Williams #twitterfingers
— Jose Perez (@regularjoeish) September 11, 2015
It's a tad satisfying to watch Drake being treated like every gf of every male athlete is treated when that male athlete loses. #blamedrake
— Danielle Campoamor (@DCampoamor) September 11, 2015
Everybody loses when #Drake shows up. Kentucky. #Serena Meek. 😕
— Corey Jones (@TheCoreyShow) September 11, 2015
In all honesty, let's blame Serena's loss on Drake. The curse lives!
— Mario Kalo (@MarioKalo) September 11, 2015
I'm not saying it's totally Drake's fault… but Kanye would have walked out on that court and taken a mic away from someone #BlameDrake
— Ralph Fortier (@RalphFortier) September 11, 2015
Drake should have stayed at home! Serena was all up in her feelings
— Khotso Mariri (@Mariri_) September 11, 2015
America looking @Drake like… #blamedrake 😴 pic.twitter.com/GKEGTO78h0
— Kameron D. Price (@iamkprice) September 11, 2015
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Lol. I don’t know why but when the match was postponed due to the weather I had a feeling that she wasn’t going to win.
I had a feeling she wouldn’t either when I saw the final four remaining. For some reason, I thought number one and number two would get knocked out by the Italians, and it would be shocking. But I always make the shocking predictions and they so rarely come true.
I feel bad for Serena, but Vinci was playing really great. Serena had a great year regardless and anyone using this loss to make doomsday predictions for her career needs a time out.
Yeah. I figured the Italians would make it too & that it would be an exhilarating match, with a win for Serena, but the rains came. She’s had a great year & is an outstanding player. Like truly enjoy watching her play.
I knew she wouldn’t win too, not because of the competition (please, its Serena) but because it was obvious she had her head up her ass. When I saw that pic of her dining with Kim effing Kardashian last week, I knew the dream was dead. No way to maintain the eye of the tiger when you hang with the queen of dead fish.
It is his fault! (insert tears here) (LOL!!)
a double fault?
I like Serena, but that tweet was definitely on the shady side. Nothing classy about it imo.
Definitely. Plus she made a little dig at Vinici referring to her age after she lost.
It was compliment, bitch slap,compliment.
Yeah … there are so many ways to take comments from Serena. She almost always has underlying sarcasm and bitchiness laced into them. Add vagueness to that. I’m sure she is genuinely happy for Flavia but yes, is rubbing it in a little to Roberta, who is accomplished as a doubles player but rather unknown on the singles circuit. You don’t steal Serena’s thunder that easy, no matter how nice you are.
I think Serena is a great champ but I would definitely not want to be on her bad side.
Agree! I read this: “But I’m choosing to go with “classy” because Serena is a good sport..” and all I could do was think “Cough cough!! Puhhhhleaaaase!!!” Lol everyone knows Serena is the mean girl of tennis. She displays a MASSIVE lack of class after or during just about any of her matches in recent history, throwing temper tantrums etc. This chick is the polar opposite of a class act.
Damn people. She can’t throw the ball and catch the ball!
DON’T BE THAT GIRL, GISELE.
Lolz
Don’t worry. Serena will b checking into a salon in Paris for some R&R. And she will not be appropriating anyone’s cultural garb.
So, now that the Gisele curse has been broken, Drake is the new Gisele.
I’ll view Serena’s tweet as classy. Pennetta won the title, Vinci didn’t. The winner deserves the congratulations and Serena’s note on the retirement was very sweet.
Sorry Serena didn’t accomplish this but she is still a champion many, many times over.
Lol!
Let’s be honest, as an amazing player she is, a good sport she has never been. Recall the lines woman, whom she threatened to effin shove the effin ball down her throat etc…Tennis players are notorious for their antics, 1 thing I hate from players is the over used “Come On”, Serena was rabod, shaking and yelling like a mad woman with every co e on, and the best one, yes bitch yes, Vinci’s Fae was priceless. Azarenka,Sharapova are come onets too. But, Vinci was the best player that day, as a 5 time grand slam doubles. Champ she had the game that many girls like, most like to sit back at base line and hit hard, you cannot win Serena like that. I loved watching the 2 Italian women played, first time in a game with no grandstanding, come one,fist shaking in anger, it was pretty game and pure respect. Serena, enough with agencies and the woe is her, give the girl props for a great year and celebrate what she did n not what did not.
That poor line woman was the first person I thought. Serena is a diva and just imagine how out of control she would be if her people never protected her image.
Vee
Serena’s journey has been too atypical for me to hold her to typical standards – especially in a sport known for antics. You can call me an apologist or you can call me a realistt.
+1 per ususal I’m just following you around, Imo.
Also Serena has done a lot of maturing. She’s very graceful in losses these days.
*throws tiny racket at mimif*
heh, I too thought, well at least she lost without threatening anyone.
Vinci’s win was so improbable if you only know singles. If you know doubles you knew it was still a long shot but not impossible. Almost killed her with kindness. Here, have a 80mph first serve… wait, what? you don’t know what to do with that? hahahaha
As an Italian I am very happy and proud of our girls, sorry Serena !
the amazing thing is that i watched Vinci-Pennetta match not really knowing what to expect. first i was mostly sad that i couldn’t see Serena in the finals, then i was mostly apprehensive because i’ve mostly seen them on the same team, same side of the net (unlike the burgeoning countrymen-rivalry ala Wawrinka-Federer complete with familial heckling).
for me, the vibe going in had been a match of two best friends. i didn’t know whether it’d be a snooze-fest of something like “after you, no after you” or what.
but it was surprisingly enjoyable. like best friends, you sort of know what buttons to push, how to get the fastest rise, like no one else. it was amazing actually.
and they’re so quiet and smooth on court. very old school. but very contemporary as well. it was amazing how they just basically have an extended bicker-like-an-old-married-couple on court and for me that’s enjoyable to watch.
the other thing that amazes me was their conversation. how they just picked up their seemingly ongoing conversation/topic once break’s announced, while waiting for this or that, while waiting for ceremony. everything was just extremely enjoyable.
it was the most enjoyable USO final for a long time. sure it lacked drama and blood and grit, but i do enjoy an occasional Jackie Chan in between my Wong Kar Wais.
sorry sorry for my wall of words. but i was just so in love with the finals match for some reason.
ITA, Deb!!! I was wayyyy into the Open this year, prolly due to all the hype around Serena and was SHOCKED when she lost but so impressed with how Vinci beat her! And that final was special. How cute were both those girls afterward??? I was crying. Loved every minute of it!
…”The point is… poor Serena”…BS.
One loss doesn’t make her less of a legend. Shit happens.
I agree with fee- Serena is an amazing tennis player but otherwise a poor sport.
And to blame Drake for it is even more poor sportmanship.
Agree! These athletes are not super-human. You have good and bad days, just like the rest of us. I was an All-American swimmer in college and I performed amazingly at three out of my four NCAAs….unfortunately my sophomore year, not so much. Your body is a not static and some days you got it and some you don’t. One loss does not detract from the amazingness of Serena Williams as a tennis player and as one of the BEST female athletes EVER!! Oh, and blaming her boyfriend is just idiotic! (unless he kept her up all night the day before her match) LOL
It’s Madonna’s fault Serena lost. She put a hex on Drake after embarrassing her, and now that dark cloud over his head that follows him wherever he goes extended to his girlfriend Serena because he was there.
The power of Madonna.
Drake was in attendance in early June for Serena’s final at Roland Garros, which she won. Maybe the hex is only valid for certain events? 😀
I love Madonna, please don’t blame her. And don’t throw eggs at me … although I know many of the CB readers are hardly fans of hers.
“I’m so happy you won”? You know that’s just plain untrue. And it’s not like she said something more specific like “Of all the competitors, I’m so glad it was you that won”. Her diplomacy sounded like it was expressed through clenched teeth.
She was exhausted, hence the loss. I feel bad for Serina but very happy for Vinci! She has personality! And she’ll be able to tell her grandkids that she beat one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.
Oh, brother, you got all that story out of a tweet?
Poor Drake, first being attacked by Madonna and now this
Great, I forgot about that Venus flytrap kiss now I’m having flashbacks. She should have really planned that kiss with him so he wouldn’t look so violated afterwards.
That tweet was pure PR manipulation. Why say in public what can be said in private if it isn’t intended to impact how the public views you.
ITA.
Jesus, all players congratulate each other on twitter ….
She didn’t have to say anything to either of them. Would anyone expect one of the men to congratulate the eventual winner of the tourney? No. She’s probably known Pannetta longer and it was a nice acknowledgement of her achievement and retirement. Serena has handled the pressure with grace and humility.
As for Drake, I thought it was stupid for Andy Roddick to blame Mandy Moore when he lost back in the day. I think it’s stupid for folks to blame Federer’s wife, kids, etc for his losses. It happens. It’s not the fault of the people dating/married to the athlete. It’s just life.
Well Ciara is being blamed for Russell Wilson and the Seahawks loss.Good for the goose,good for he gander.
Got news for you, Serena looks like she wants to cry in just about every match at some point. It’s kind of fun analyzing post match statement or tweets. Glad you won? Easier to tweet that after the retirement announcement. Hmmm…. or like Roger saying Novak’s having an unbelievable career, like maybe it’s just Roger who can’t fjcking believe it?
Blaming Drake for Serena’s loss is about as accurate as blaming her attire. She’s still the best and the best can occasionally be beaten… those occasions increase the longer they go so then they have to make the choice. Serena may not be there physically but she may getting there faster mentally and emotionally.
This is actually really funny to me. So often, when a male sports figure is dating a female celebrity, every loss gets blamed on her, saying she “jinxed” him.
It’s childish, but I’m honestly delighted to see this sort of “at all costs, blame the one you DON’T adulate” reaction works both ways. It wasn’t sexism after all; it was just humans being weird, as we are wont to be. 🙂
I wonder if I’m the only American happy that Serena didn’t win. I think she is way too arrogant and considers herself a legend, like aren’t we so lucky we get to witness her reign over Tennis. She never comes across as a gracious winner or loser; when she wins, she screams and makes a HUGE show about it, and when she loses, she goes into major tantrum mode. After this loss, I was thinking ‘cool, now humble yourself sit down for a second.’ As they say, “Pride comes before the fall.”
Serena is a great player on court but nowhere near as gracious and nice as her sister, Venus. Venus is a class act.