The Williams Sisters are the most visible women's tennis players on the planet and they were front and center again this week as the two were delayed at the Family Circle Cup as a documentary film about their lives was released.
According to the New York Times, the two sisters felt the movie, titled "Venus and Serena," was not what they expected and received mixed reviews from the subjects. The film was released on Thursday on iTunes and will be released in theaters on May 10. The film shows a number of intense moments between the sisters and their coaches as well as one with Serena and her hitting partner.
The sisters were rained out on Thursday at the Family Circle Cup and the film also looks at some of their toughest moments, including when the two dealt with health issues in 2011 and the incident in Indian Wells in 2001 that has kept the sisters away for years. It shows the hostile fans at the tournament railing on Serena and it also documents the controversial screaming that Serena did on a lineswoman at the US Open in 2009.
The rain delay lasted seven hours and pushed the sisters to Friday. Second seed Wozniacki was given a free pass to the quarterfinals when Andrea Petkovic withdrew with a calf injury just a few hours before their scheduled match. Serbia's Jelena Jankovic ousted 19-year-old American Jessica Pegula in just 64 minutes 6-0 6-4 but was affected by the lengthy delays.
Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele prevailed 3-6 6-1 6-3 over 10th seed German Julia Goerges, while third seeded Australian Samantha Stosur went down to Canadian qualifier Eugenie Bouchard, retiring hurt with a leg complaint after losing the first set 6-1 and trailing 2-0 in the second.
A rain delay of nearly seven-and-a-half hours forced organizers to push back top seed Serena's round of 16 match with qualifier Mallory Burdette and Venus' battle with Varvara Lepchenko to Friday.
(Reuters)
