Serena blasts racist Ilie
STUTTGART: Pregnant American world No 1 Serena Williams has slammed former Romanian great Ilie Nastase over racist remarks he made in her direction last week, and Romania’s top player Simona Halep also voiced criticism yesterday.
Team captain Nastase was reportedly overheard at a news conference around the Romania v Britain Fed Cup tie as saying about Williams’ unborn baby: “Let’s see what colour it has. Chocolate with milk?”
Williams’ fiance is Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who is white. She announced her pregnancy last week and said she won’t play again this year. Nastase also asked British captain Anne Keothavong for her room number. He is now suspended by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after being kicked out of the tie on Saturday for insulting Keothavong and player Johanna Konta during a match.
Williams took to Instagram late Monday, saying: “It disappoints me to know we live in a society in which people like (Nastase) can make such racist comments towards myself and my unborn child, and sexist comments against my peers.”
The record 23-time Grand Slam winner also cited a poem from Maya Angelou: “You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise.”
Williams thanked the ITF and pledged “they will have my full support.” She also vowed: “I will continue to take a lead and stand up for what’s right.”
Halep, who won both singles ties in Romania’s 3-2 win and reportedly was initially critical of Konta leaving the court in tears during a match, was also not supportive of Nastase’s behaviour. “What he did was wrong. I can’t defend him. I don’t know if he will remain our captain,” Halep said while at the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Halep said that Nastase did not treat her badly during the tie but that he was critical of her in the past via the media. “I respect him for what he has achieved, not for the way he has treated people,” she said, adding he is unlikely to change, given his age of 70.
Looking at Konta, Halep said they both came to Stuttgart on the same plane. “We talked, there is no problem, everything is okay,” she said. – dpa SOUTH Africa’s top two players over the course of the summer of 2016/17, Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis, go from allies to enemies as the main contenders for the best cricketer of what was an outstanding season for the Proteas.
A trio of Test series victories – two in Australasia – with three one-day international series triumphs thrown in for good measure, owed much to the contribution of the pair, who both hold significant positions in the team.
In Du Plessis’ case he took to the Test captaincy with such panache, that his very good chum, AB de Villiers reckoned he was best suited for the role.
Having led the side to a third consecutive series win in Australia, Du Plessis was accused of cheating, for sucking on a sweet and in the immediate aftermath made one of the great “up yours” hundreds in the daynight Test in Adelaide.
Throughout the season Du Plessis led from the front matching word with deed, scoring runs while leading intelligently by pushing his players to the limits of their abilities.
That century at the Adelaide Oval was his only one in the Test arena this season, and there were four half-centuries, while his fielding was breathtaking.
In addition he averaged 61.42 in ODIs last summer, scoring three centuries as South Africa won 14 out of 16 ODIs, including a 5-0 win against Australia, when Du Plessis was captain, with De Villiers out injured.
De Kock’s wicket-keeping is a much improved area of his game; he has taken some sublime catches, but he’s also entrenched himself as one of the main tacticians in the team.
The manner in which he stood up to the stumps for the various spinners South Africa used across all formats last season, speaks volumes for the hard work he put in ahead of last season.
His batting though has elevated him to an elite status on the international stage.
He scored two centuries each in Tests and ODIs, averaging 47.56 in the five-day format and 50.31 in the 16 ODIs the Porteas played.
The timing of many of his innings underscored his importance to South Africa; in Hobart in conditions suitable for seam bowling, he scored a magnificent 104 and his 91 in the second Test in Wellington, was instrumental in the win over New Zealand.
Du Plessis and De Kock are the two major contenders in Cricket SA’s annual awards.
The pair have been nominated in three categories; Cricketer, Test and ODI Player of the Year.
Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir make up the remaining nominees in the Cricketer of the Year category. The awards take place at Kyalami on next month on the 13th.