Serena sees off two old foes

IT WAS not a good 24 hours at the US Open for those who work in the often thankless profession of umpiring. First it emerged that Damian Steiner, who sat in the chair for last month’s epic Wimbledon men’s final, has been sacked by the ATP Tour. Then Serena Williams loftily dismissed the man who tried to discipline her in last year’s tumultuous championship match at Flushing Meadows. Williams (below) was in confident mood after her imperious dismissal of old foe Maria Sharapova — beating her 6-1, 6-1 in their opening night encounter. It may have been her most commanding performance since returning from becoming a parent last year. Afterwards she was asked for her reaction to the decision that she and umpire Carlos Ramos — who nearly defaulted her in the women’s final — would be kept apart at this year’s edition. ‘I don’t know who that is,’ she responded. The main takeaway from the much-hyped match was that Williams, who now faces American teenager Catherine McNally, was inspired again by the sight of arch enemy Sharapova on the other side of the net and looked in frighteningly good form. At least there was no controversy with the

officiating, although the tournament had already kicked off with news of another umpire in strife. The New York Times reported that Steiner has been dismissed for giving a series of unauthorised interviews in his native Argentina in the wake of presiding over the classic final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic at SW19. Steiner, an elite Gold Badge holder rated as one of the sport’s best, gave at least a dozen interviews to the media after his return home and his crime was straying into areas that are off limits. Among other things he made suggestions that there should be restrictions on the use of towelling down and that let serves might be abolished. He also talked about the final itself.