[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12572]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                     WILLIAMS SISTERS AT WIMBLEDON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MAXINE WATERS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 10, 2002

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Serena Williams 
on her impressive win at Wimbledon. Over the holiday weekend, Serena 
beat her older sister, Venus, to win her third grand slam title but her 
first Wimbledon title. I congratulate the two sisters on a great match.
  Serena said she gained a lot of momentum from her French Open win, 
and it showed. In the end, Serena won in straight sets. With the win, 
Serena became the first woman to win the French Open and Wimbledon 
back-to-back since Steffi Graf in 1996.
  The next day, the two sisters teamed up to win the Wimbledon Doubles 
Title over French Open champions, Paola Suarez and Virginia Ruano 
Pascual. While the weather did not look great, the skill these young 
ladies displayed certainly was. It was an entertaining match, but in 
the end the Williams sisters proved too strong for their opponents. 
They won 6-2, 7-5. With that win, the sisters' 2002 Wimbledon record 
was 19 wins and 1 loss. The one loss came when Venus lost to Serena in 
the Singles Finals.
  Serena now is ranked number one in the world. Venus, who previously 
was ranked first, is now second. They are quickly becoming the most 
dominant figures in tennis. They are extremely skilled, they can hit 
both forehands and backhands with pinpoint accuracy. And their serves 
are clocked at well over 100 mph.
  Venus and Serena enter each match well-prepared and confident, but 
the sisters always handle themselves with grace. What is perhaps most 
telling about them, though, is their love for each other. Even after 
battling it out on the tennis courts for nearly two hours, Venus said, 
``Serena is my sister and I'm really happy she won, especially her 
first time. I would have loved to have won. At the same time, I'm so 
happy for her.''
  These young ladies are true competitors, but also great individuals. 
Again, I would like to congratulate Serena on her win this past 
Saturday. I wish both of them, Serena and Venus, the best of luck in 
upcoming tournaments.

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