Sept. 10, New York -- Richard Williams has called for Martina Hingis to have her legs 'sawn off' and replaced if she wants to be able to compete with at least one of his U.S. Open-winning daughters, Venus.
The eccentric Svengali-like figure who emerged from a Californian ghetto in the 1990s as his daughters began to make a mark in the game, was quick to pile abuse on Swiss Hingis and American Lindsay Davenport after Venus won $800,000 for downing Davenport.
The senior Williams, known for crazed statements concerning the tennis talents of his children Venus and Serena -- last year's Open winner -- are legendary. But after coming down to court uninvited and hopping around after Venus won, the grizzled, unpredictable figure went completely off the deep end.
He told a New York newspaper: 'Hingis (5-foot-7) is an inch shorter than when I first met her. She should come to me and say 'Master Williams, I want you to help me.' And I could help her.'
Williams said that he would refer Hingis to an unspecified 'friend' of his from the ghetto. 'When he's not high, he's a surgeon. He could saw her legs off and attach new legs that are a couple of inches (centimeters) longer. Her legs are to short to run down the ball.'
The unshaven Williams continued: 'I don't think (Davenport and Hingis) can raise their games to the bar that we've set. I can't see Hingis getting any better -- and Lindsay is getting older and slower.'
Davenport, a picture of middle-class stability from an Olympic sporting family, was repulsed. She said she didn't even bother to note the self-important Williams gate-crashing celebration on court. 'I always turn my head, better not to see how they act.'
Williams claims 'coaching' status for himself, though he is believed to be unschooled in any skills relating to the subject. Though he claims to be involved in numerous businesses -- he once said he was planning to buy Rockefeller Center in New York -- his job now seems to be minding his daughters' careers, which are on a high since Venus won Wimbledon in July and now the U.S. Open, both by defeating Davenport.
His previous behavior has been odd to say the least. Several years ago, he couldn't stop predicting about how his youngest daughters -- both were conceived and bred to play the game after he took note about the amounts of prize money up for grabs in 1970s tennis -- would battle for world No. 1.
That hasn't happened yet as neither teenager has played an entire calendar-year season, which is the most solid basis for achieving a ranking boost. Williams, like his daughters, has been known to wander off at seemingly strange intervals. When Venus and Serena faced off in an all-sister semifinal at Wimbledon, he preferred to pace the streets around the All England Club smoking rather than watch the match.
And at night, the instant millionaire often would buy a meal in a low-budget neighborhood take-away shop, purchasing hamburgers to take home.
And when Venus beat Hingis in three sets last Friday, he walked out of the stadium after an error by his daughter. He said he had a 'business meeting' to attend.
Despite her back-to-back Slams, Williams will remain ranked No. 3 behind Davenport and Hingis. As neither Williams plays a full schedule, it is almost impossible for either to surpass the full-time top two women in the game.
But Venus Williams is not concerned with any shenanigans outside her own game. 'This was a very nice victory because I feel like I played Lindsay when she was playing some of her best tennis. And now I've beaten the No. 1 and 2 players in the rankings successively