"She thinks she's the f*****g Venus Williams"- When Irina Spirlea explained why she bumped into a 17-year-old Venus Williams during US Open SF
Venus Williams reached her maiden Grand Slam final at the 1997 US Open, at the age of just 17. In the semis she registered a 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(7) win over Romanian Irina Spirlea, who was the 11th seed at the tournament.
The match was a fiercely contested one and both players produced some brilliant tennis. However, it also had its fair share of controversy, as Spirlea intentionally bumped into Williams during a changeover in the second set.
The Romanian was asked about the incident in the post-match press conference. She replied that Venus Williams wasn't trying to turn during changeovers, which is why she bumped into her.
"I'm not going to move. I mean, she's never trying to turn or whatever. She thinks she's the f*****g Venus Williams. She not going to turn. She just went like this. I was like, 'I want to see if she's turning.' She didn't, so," Spirlea said.
When Venus Williams was told about Spirlea's comment, she played down the incident and stated that she wasn't even thinking about it.
"Well, I mean, I'm not having any injuries from that bump. I think we just both weren't looking. I think we both were just concentrating on trying to stay in the match and trying to win the match. I mean, I really wasn't even thinking about that. So I'm sorry she feels that way. It's not really a big thing to me," Venus Williams said.
Williams eventually lost in the final 6-0, 6-4 to Martina Hingis, for whom it was the third Major of the season.
As for Irina Spirlea, she was fined $5000 for using obscene language while talking about the bumping incident.
Venus Williams and Irina Spirlea played each other on four seperate occasions
Venus Williams and Irina Spirlea locked horns on four occasions, with the 1997 US Open semifinals being the first of those. The second meeting between the two came in the opening round of that year's Advanta Championships in Philadelphia, with Spirlea winning 6-3, 6-2.
Williams then beat the Romanian 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the 1999 Swisscom Challenge in Zurich. She won again, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-2, in the second round of the 2000 Betty Barclay Cup at Hamburg, for a final head-to-head advantage of 3-1.
Interestingly, Serena Williams also has a 3-1 head-to-head against Irina Spirlea. The two locked horns in two Grand Slam matches, with Williams winning at the 1998 Australian Open and the Romanian triumphing at that year's US Open.