"I prayed to God just to help me be strong, not even to win" - When Serena Williams responded to being booed at Indian Wells
Serena Williams hardly ever put a foot wrong in her glittering two-decade career. But things did go south at times for the tennis legend, like they did at Indian Wells on March 17, 2001.
Williams was booed by an unfriendly audience that day, during the final against Belgium's Kim Clijsters. Williams, only 19 years old then, triumphed 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, but the crowd, numbering close to 16,000, kept booing and jeering the American.
The semi-final between Serena Williams and her sister Venus Williams acted as a breaking point for the usually sporty Indian Wells crowd. The fans thought the semi-final — from which Venus withdrew hours before the match commenced, citing tendonitis — was fixed by their father Richard.
The sisters were so taken aback by the booing in the final that they did not return to Indian Wells for a staggering 14 years.
Speaking at a post-match press conference after her win, Serena Williams said she just prayed to God to help her stay strong and not listen to the crowd.
"Things just weren't going right for me today. To be honest, what I did was literally I went over on the changeover and I prayed to God just to help me be strong, not even to win, but to be strong, not listen to the crowd. Every time I missed a serve or anything, it was a little out of the ordinary (smiling). I just wanted some strength to go on," she said.
Williams added that it was not the most exciting title of her career, before reiterating that she had won a mental battle more than anything.
"This isn't the most exciting championship I've won. I think I've won a big battle today mentally. I definitely won a battle mentally today more than anything. I think a champion can come through. I kept saying to myself, 'You know, you're a champion, Serena. You can come through,'" she said.
Serena Williams went on to throw more light on booing incident
Serena Williams further opined that racism was still an issue in America in 2001. When questioned whether race had anything to do with the booing episode, Williams pointed out that although it might not have played a vital role in the incident, the country was still crippled with racism.
"Race? I think, you know, black people have been out of slavery now for just over a hundred years, and people are still kind of struggling a little bit. It hasn't been that long. I don't know if race has anything to do with this particular situation. But in general I think, yeah, there's still a little problem with racism in America," she said of the incident.
Williams added that she, like any other tennis player, would have loved to be loved by the crowd.
"I think anyone would prefer to be loved by the crowd. I have my fans out there. I'm really happy that I do have a lot of fans out there. At least wherever I go, people want my autograph. I don't know if they're my fans or not. I don't know," she said.
Serena Williams next competed at Indian Wells in 2015, 14 years after the 2001 final. Williams won the Indian Wells title twice - in 1999 and 2001 - and was the runner-up in the 2016 edition, losing to second seed Victoria Azarenka in the final.