November 22, 2008 
 Thorlos 3-for 1 Sale!
Thorlos tennis socks have been around for nearly 30 years. Rumor has it that some of those original tennis socks have been spotted on the courts. Now that's durability! Thorlos has a tennis sock for every level of player – from those who play and get paid for it, to those who play and pay the price the next day. Click here for Thorlo Sale Andy Murray's Serve - ProStrokes 2.0 Feature This Week
See sample of Andy Murray's serve in ProStrokes 2.0 Slow-Motion in this week's edition.
Venus & Serena: That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles Joel Drucker Two days before the start of the 2008 U.S. Open, Venus and Serena Williams addressed the media. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour person in charge of the press conference kicked it off by saying that “Venus and Serena would like to make a very special announcement.” Fascinating, particularly given the way the two had made headlines throughout the summer. At Wimbledon, meeting up in a Grand Slam final for the first time in five years, Venus and Serena had played a superb match, a showcase of power, tactics and emotion a significant level higher in quality than any of their previous encounters. Though Serena had charged out to 4-2 lead, it was Venus who won this raw-knuckled battle, 7-5 6-4. Then, the summer primed for them to build off that success, the two collectively played but one U.S. Open Series event. At the Beijing Olympics, though, Venus and Serena won their second gold medal as a doubles team.
So what was it they wanted to share with the world at the season’s last Grand Slam? A new coach? Useful, yes, but also doubtful given their blind loyalty to father Richard. A new American tennis program that would build off their success and inspire others to get into the game? Or perhaps, in this election year, these two revolutionary newsmakers were going to endorse a candidate. Again not likely. As Jehovah’s Witnesses, neither Venus nor Serena votes. Here is the transcript from that day’s press conference. Serena: As you can see, my sister and I are always really excited and really happy, but we have a very important announcement we'd like to make today. Venus: My sister and I have decided to become two-sport athletes, and we've joined a new league. Serena : Oreos Double Stuff Racing League. Venus: It puts a new spin on the classic twist, lick, and dunk. People compete to see who can eat a Double Stuffed Oreo cookie the fastest, so Serena and I have joined the league. We've become very fast, actually.
Serena: We're the fastest ever. Huh? It was just another beguiling chapter in this incredible tale. For in the big picture, the Williams sisters' story is to me one of the most remarkable stories – perhaps the most remarkable – in all of sports. At least the Manning brothers hailed from an affluent family and were children of a former NFL quarterback. But to imagine not just one, but two young women emerging from Compton, California to earn to date 16 Grand Slam singles titles is mind-boggling. Imagine if Tiger Woods had a brother chasing him down the back nine of Augusta. It’s just the small stuff – if you will, the cream inside the cookie – that makes me scratch my head. Over their time in this sport, it’s not so much the sisters’ outside interests that vex me but their oddly disaffected attitude towards tennis itself. Naturally, soon after that press conference, Venus and Serena again played an incredible match. Serena this time won a dramatic quarterfinal, 7-6, 7-6. Two wins later, she won her third U.S. Open. Even more impressively, that night Serena regained the number one ranking for the first time in five years – the longest gap in tennis history. My hope was that each would then build momentum for the year-end championships in Doha. Serena in particular had the opportunity to truly cement her status as the year’s best player. But prior to Doha, Serena played but one tournament. Amazingly, despite winning Wimbledon, the rest of Venus’ year was so lackluster that she worked ardently to earn a spot in Doha, competing in three European indoor events this fall.
The rust showed most when Serena lost to Venus by the miserable score of 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 and then opted to pull out of the event. Venus was a laser, winning the title with excellent attacking tennis. Once again, she showed off the family strength: rising to the big occasion. So what can we make of these two? So often they deliver the goods. And yet so indifferent are they when it comes to competing with the kind of consistency one expects from devoted professionals. Serena spoke in Doha about how hard she was working. But what is she working on? Why do these two get injured so much? Equally disturbing was the way Serena verbally chewed out a reporter who questioned her withdrawal after seeing her practice. With the exception of her losses to Venus, Serena is rarely gracious in defeat, exhibiting a nasty streak of self-absorption and disaffection that tears her proclaimed spirituality into shreds. My hope for 2009 – and I’ve only held out this hope for nearly ten years – is that each of these two future Hall of Famers indeed pursues sustained greatness. My sense is that my hopes will again be dashed. But along the way, there could well be some supreme sisterly moments. Cookies dunked in milk get soft, but they still taste pretty good. As always, we would love to hear from you! Questions, comments, personal experiences all create helpful dialogue for everyone! Please click here to send us your email.
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