In the dog-eat-dog world of competitive tennis, “sympathy” doesn’t feature in the dictionary. The shelf-life of players is limited and it’s all about doing as well as you can — results wise and financially — in that limited time, even if one is relentlessly crushing a friend.So it wasn’t a surprise to hear Serena Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, speak matter-of-factly about his pupil’s first-set display in the Australian Open semifinals Thursday — a dominant performance that left Agnieszka Radwanska utterly helpless in one of the biggest stadiums in the world, Rod Laver Arena.Radwanska barely won a point as fans at Melbourne Park, not to mention millions around the world on television, looked on.
“I’m not here to have sympathy,” Mouratoglou told reporters after the defending champion’s 6-0 6-4 victory. “My job is to win. If I start to have sympathy, I cannot do my job.”Williams’ mom, Oracene Price, a calming figure who takes things in her stride and never seems to get stressed watching her daughters play pivotal matches, was less blunt.”Oh you always (have sympathy),” she told CNN. “Sometimes you kind of have to separate competition from the friendship.”To be fair to Mouratoglou, the Frenchman did add of the crafty Radwanska, who won the 2015 WTA Finals title in world No. 1 Serena’s absence: “I like her. She’s a super nice person.”
source:CNN
