Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview With John Wertheim

Aired July 13, 2002 - 07:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, one of the guys in that piece was John Wertheim with "Sports Illustrated." He's got a book out called "Venus Envy." And let's talk to him a little more about this amazing sister act. John, good to have you with us.

JOHN WERTHEIM, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Thanks, nice to be here.

O'BRIEN: All right. One thing that was kind of interesting, and I've heard the rumblings of this in tennis, and this happened at Wimbledon. Everybody kind of rolls their eyes. Oh, no, another Williams final. And, implicit in that is that it isn't so great for tennis. It sort of doesn't bring in a larger group. Is that true, or false, in your opinion?

WERTHEIM: Well, heading into the Wimbledon final the great fear was that they were going to have another sub-standard match. In the past, they hadn't been able to to play their best tennis against the other...

O'BRIEN: And I've heard the theory that they know each other's game too well. You go with that?

WERTHEIM: Yeah, I think that's the best explanation aside from sort of the psychological. But when they played at Wimbledon on Saturday, it was a tremendous match. I mean, this was as good a set of tennis as I've ever seen. And, I think if their matches now can be like that, it's a completely different story and I think we're all going to look forward to Williams-Williams finals.

O'BRIEN: And I suppose implicit in your statement is that we're going to see more Williams' finals. Can we take that to the bank?

WERTHEIM: I think it's pretty close. They're really starting to hit their stride. At the same time that the players who used to challenge them: Jennifer Capriati, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport -- seem to be tailing off. So there's this unfortunate time and fortunate from their perspective where the gap right now between the two sisters and the rest of the field is just immense.

O'BRIEN: And I suppose if tennis really didn't like it they could just change the way the ladder works and the tree works and put them on the same side so they couldn't possibly end up in the finals together, right? WERTHEIM: That's like changing the measurements for Tiger. I don't think that's going to happen. I think, too, they handle themselves so well and tennis aficionados might like to see more variety, but I think for the general public, when Williams-Williams plays, it's still a big deal. So, I think in the long run it's great for women's tennis.

O'BRIEN: It is. OK. How, in general, tennis has been kind of going to the blahs. Is this time for rebound? And, is it the Williams that will get credit for it?

WERTHEIM: I was going to say, if tennis is going to rebound a little bit, they are right now the two front liners. I mean, what they've done with sport, I don't think we've ever seen. And, not -- obviously their race is a factor, but just sort of the personalities, the way they play tennis, the way they hit the ball. They've really elevated the sport.

At Wimbledon, they were showing old tapes during the inevitable rain delays of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, and you would think we were talking about a 60-70 year-old-gap between that tennis and the kind of tennis the Williams sisters play. So, I think they're great for the sport and I think, you're right, if tennis is going to come back, it's not going to be the Anna Kournikovas who are, sort of, flavors of the month. It's going to be substance and that's where the Williams' come in.

O'BRIEN: John Wertheim works for "Sports Illustrated" and he's got a book out called "Venus Envy." We invite you to check it out and thank you for being with us this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com