Tennis
Serena Williams Throws a Tantrum and Wins Sony Ericsson Open
By Dylan Vox

Apr 6, 2008

Serena Williams

Serena Williams earned her fifth title at the Sony Ericsson Open championships this weekend, but not before throwing a temper tantrum that would have made John McEnroe proud. The eighth seeded American beat out Serbian Jelena Jankovic in an up and down 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 match to reclaim her title.  

Williams came out strong in the early set and quickly took advantage of Jankovic’s serve. Jankovic, who was suffering from a sinus infection, had to call the doctor to the court to help with her labored breathing, but rallied in the second set to tie up the match. Williams began slamming her first racket in frustration.  

Williams again applied the pressure, whipping her powerful forehands past her opponent accompanied by her famous primordial scream, and she went up in the third set 5-0.  

Jankovic recovered, and after a few extended volleys, won the next three games. That’s when the frustration of 95 unforced errors and seven lost match points got the better of Williams, who slammed her racket into the ground, shattering it on the court. She screamed with frustration and frightened Jankovic.

"That was scary, to be honest," Jankovic told the Associated Press.  

The outburst, however, seemed to have a calming effect on Williams’ game. She was able to recover and finally took the match.  

"The racket was getting on my nerves. He had to go," she joked with the press.  

Williams, who won the title last year and from 2002-04, now ties legendary Steffi Graff for the most women’s titles at the Miami event.  

On the men's side, second-seeded Rafael Nadal faces No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko, who ousted Andy Roddick, in today's final.