As Venus Williams strolls into the Australian Open fourth round, she continues to be the hot topic for many both on and of the court.
On the court, she wowed the crowd at the Margaret Court Arena with a dominating 6-1, 6-0, win over China’s Duan Yingying in the third round. Throughout the one-sided 60-minute win, Williams hit 3 aces and 25 winners against her less experienced opponent, who was playing her first third round match in a major. Yingying did displayed glimmers of her talent as she saved seven break points, but her shot-making ability failed to tame the power of Williams.
“She can hit the ball. She’s a lot of talent.” Williams said about her opponent. “I was lucky to have more experience today and I am so happy to be in the fourth round (at the Australian Open) against a player who is playing really well.”
Racing into the last 16 at Melbourne for the 10th time in her career, Williams was unhindered by the controversy away from the court involving an ESPN commentator. Earlier this week, Doug Adler, who is also a former player, sparked uproar when he compared Williams to a gorilla. Since the comment, the 59-year-old has tried to cool down the situation. Issuing an on-air apology, Adler has claimed the word he used was ‘guerrilla’ and not Gorilla.
“She puts the Gorilla effect on. Charging”. Just wtf. This is not cool @ESPNTennis @espn pic.twitter.com/L46Bwf6sEh
— Shanna 🍍 (@PinaCocoblog) 18 January 2017
Adler’s attempt to defuse the situation has failed to save his job after ESPN confirmed that he has been dropped over the comments. The broadcaster said in a statement that he should of been ‘more careful’ with his words during the match.
“During an Australian Open stream on ESPN3, Doug Adler should have been more careful in his word selection,” an ESPN statement said.
“He apologised and we have removed him from his remaining assignments.”
Following the dismissal, Williams was asked about the incident in Melbourne shortly after her third round win. The 36-year-old refused to blast Alder, instead she focused on the positives of her career.
“All I can say is it’s been a wonderful, wonderful career for me full of positives. That’s what I focus on. I mean, what else can I do? It’s a beautiful life. That’s how I feel about every single thing,” the former world No.1 old told reporters.
“I pay attention and address situations that are noteworthy. That’s been my past record, clearly.”
Williams will play her fourth round match on Sunday.
