"WINNING ATTITUDE" WILLIAMS TENNIS FAMILY

Venus (left) and Serena Williams delight in their Wimbledon Millenium Ladies Doubles trophy.

Two days after winning the singles title Venus teamed up with her 18 year-old sister and they won Wimbledon doubles title. They are first sisters ever to do so. In a 70-minute victory they defeated Ai Sugiyama and Julie Halard-Decugis 6-3, 6-2. Since the sisters weren't ranked, due to playing so few tournaments this year, they needed a wild card to enter the event. It was their 3rd Grand Slam doubles title. They also won the 1999 U.S. Open and French Open.

Venus is now ranked 3rd [up from 5th] and Serena 7th [up from 8th]. Due to their inactivity on the tour this season neither has a chance of attaining a number one ranking. The gap is too large between her and # 1 ranked Martina Hingis and # 2 Lindsay Davenport.

Venus has played in only four events this year due to tendinitis in both wrists. It was rumored that she would retire from the game. Serena missed two months of tournaments due to a knee injury.

"We can do better," CNNSI reported Serena as saying. "We're not playing our best tennis right now. There's a lot of room for improvement."

The girls readily admit that making it to the top of the rankings this year is unrealistic but are looking towards doing so next year.

Venus displayed a winning attitude and confidence when on arrival she showed up at Wimbledon with a sleeveless gown for the champion's dinner. It wasn't wasted.

When you put into perspective that the two girls and their father have been ridiculed by the media regarding their behavior, attitude, appearance [wearing beads and braids] and the manner Richard chose to raise his daughters, their accomplishments are even more amazing. The family wore their blinders focused and continued their winning ways.

They never dwelled on what they didn't have when they lived in the ghetto of Compton, California. [see: Williams 'We Are' Tennis Family ]

Neighborhood homes had bars on the doors and windows FOR PROTECTION and TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT AND NOT IN. Richard kept his children out of harms way by teaching them a game that would be their future and a way out of the slum… a Compton slum that would make Phnom Penh, Cambodia proud. Phnom Penh is not as dangerous.

Serena looks at the Compton experience as a glass being half full rather than half empty. She recalled the wonderful ice cream trucks that came to her neighborhood. "They had the best ice cream," she said.

From rags to riches the hard work has paid off. The girls are about to leave the family nest. They're now building their own five-bedroom house.

The William's sisters continue their winning ways in Women's tennis but they continue to fight the mental fight with some in the media who seem to think the sisters are long on talent but short on memory.

The sisters are still asked and pressured by some of the media to tell them what their family thinks. This question was asked of Serena TWO YEARS ago when I covered her competition at the Acura tournament in Los Angles California in August 1998. [see: WTA TEEN QUEENS ].

The answer remains the same. She doesn't know or think for her parents. Both girls advise the press that if they want to know what their parents think that they should ask their parents.

Now we're talking COMMON down to earth SENSE here from these young ladies. This is how the girls are raised. Some in the media have questioned how they have been brought up. Some of the media have paid more attention to the girl's appearance and attitudes than their tennis accomplishments.

Their attitudes are fine thank you. It's a winning attitude of not letting someone knock you down mentally and bang chinks in your armor. They focus on what they're trying to accomplish….WIN AND BE SUCCESSFUL.

That is to win and not to play silly mind games. The girls have learned their father's lessons well.

It makes me wonder if some members of the press need brain surgery. The girl's minds are perfectly fine and so is their tennis. They just keep going on with their winning ways and maintaining their winning attitudes. As I said to their father two years ago at the Acura...YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB.

TIGER CUP: The 2000 Tiger Cup will take place in Thailand in November 4th to 18th. Ten nations of the ASEAN will participate with the host team being the favorites to win. Thailand received a favorable draw in Group A with participants, Indonesia, Burma, the Philippines and Brunei. Those matches will be held in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

Group B matches will be played in the southern city of Songkhla. Vietnam, Maylasia, Laos, Cambodia and defending [1998] champions Singapore will compete. The semi-finals and finals will take place in Bangkok.

Thailand failed to repeat as champions from their 1996 victory with a poor effort in the 98 Cup matches. The embarrassment led them to hire English coach PETER WITHE who turned the Thais fortunes around with a strong showing in the Asian Games. [ see: Asian Soccer ]

PETER WITHE: The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) has extended his contract for another year. His current contract was due to expire after the Asia Cup Finals in Lebanon in October. Withe took over the helm as Thailand's coach in October of 1998 after Thailand's embarrassing showing in the Tiger Cup. This gives Withe a chance to go full circle and regain the Tiger Cup title that Thailand won in 1996 but lost in 1998. [ see: Peter Withe part 1 & 2 ]

KEITH COOPER, the FIFA Director of Communications spoke to the press at the Tiger Cup 2000 Media Symposium in Bangkok July 10. He expressed that sportswriters should put aside the false notion that their primary role is to criticize. He explained that sportswriters should be constructive, positive and informative. [ see: Racist Radio ]

"It is sometimes trendy to be negative. But you should not feel obliged to only criticize," he said.

Cooper also pointed out, "Don't let your readers think your team is inferior by comparing them with European sides. Thailand should not be compared to England. Instead, they should be compared to teams in the region like Indonesia."

The incomparable Rodman in lingerie.

NBA LEGENDS TOUR: A team of NBA legends featuring CLYDE DREXLER and DOMINIQUE WILKINS is scheduled to play three games with the Chinese National team this August in China. Three schedule includes games August 11 in Beijing, August 14 Guangzhou and August 17 in Shanghai. The National team will then participate in September at the Olympics in Australia.

DENNIS RODMAN: Since being released by the Dallas Mavericks what's happened to the ROD-MAN? Fox Sports reports that Rodman is contemplating a web site RodmanTV.Com. It seems the multi colored hared one intends to put cameras in his home for all to see what's going on. Hopefully he'll have some instant replay and slow motion cameras installed. Stay tuned…. [ see: Dennis Rodman ]

James Loving may be reached at: nationalradio@yahoo.com