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As Serena Williams pumped her fist and waved to the crowd after winning Saturday's Nasdaq-100 Open final, sister Venus stood at her seat and clapped.
Times have changed.
As recently as three years ago, Venus was the biggest name in women's tennis. Today, Serena holds that honor and Venus has become somewhat of an afterthought. The Nasdaq seemed like the perfect event for Venus to make some noise as each of the top five in the world rankings skipped, and she appeared to have a favorable draw. But Venus, seeded second, fell in the quarterfinals to eventual runnerup Elena Dementieva 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3).
After losing to Serena in last year's Wimbledon final, Venus did not play again until this year's Australian Open because of a lingering abdominal injury. She's 7-3 in 2003, which includes a third-round loss to Lisa Raymond in Australia, the season's first major. Venus has 29 WTA Tour titles, but only one since the start of the 2003 season.
Her last major title was the 2001 U.S. Open, though it must be noted she has reached the finals of five since. Venus is ranked No. 16 and last was No. 1 two years ago.
After the loss to Dementieva, Venus said her game was "on the up and up."
One certainly has to wonder.
NO TIME TO SIT: Those who have seen Andy Roddick up close probably have noticed how much fidgeting he does during changeovers. Now we know why. Asked why he left his seat so quickly during breaks in Sunday's Nasdaq final victory against Guillermo Coria, Roddick replied, "I was feeling all right. I mean, I wasn't hurt, you know. Plus, my ADD kicks in, and sitting down for four minutes doesn't exactly sound good for me."
SAY WHAT?: Serena Williams thumped Dementieva 6-1, 6-1 Saturday, but fell one spot to No. 7 in the rankings while Dementieva moved from No. 8 to No. 6.
According to the WTA Tour Web site, the tour uses a 52-week, cumulative system in which the number of tournament results that comprise a player's ranking is capped at 17. The results used are from the tournaments that have yielded the player's highest ranking (round and quality) points.
Confused?
Here's a better way to look at it: Dementieva has played in nearly five times as many events as Williams in the past year; Williams, remember, missed eight months with knee problems.
GOING FOR THE CUP: The United States' Davis Cup match against Sweden, which begins Friday in Delray Beach, is the first Davis Cup match in Florida since 1995, when the Americans defeated France 4-1 in the first round in St. Petersburg. Tampa's Mardy Fish, No. 18 in the rankings (third best among Americans), will play. For ticket information, call 1-888-484-8782.
ODDS AND ENDS: For winning Sunday, Roddick accepted a crystal bowl and $533,350 first prize. The victory was his 200th on tour. He leaped over Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero to No. 2 in the rankings. ... Nasdaq attendance jumped from 248,126 last year to 254,022. Attendance for the men's final went from 11,558 to 13,118. Forty-two networks from around the world broadcast the event to 156 countries for approximately 900 hours of coverage. ... A King Cheetah, Komodo Dragon and Burmese Python were on site at the Nasdaq, interacting with players and fans. ... In an effort to promote the game, the United States Tennis Association has set up thousands of facilities across the country in neighborhood parks, commercial tennis clubs, health clubs, resorts, high schools and colleges. For more information and site locations, go online to www.TennisWelcomeCenter.com
LAST WORD: "(Coria) has a game based on speed, but the thing that bothers me about him is whether that's going to be enough against the really big hitters."
- ESPN commentator Cliff Drysdale.