Only daddy was smoking

Venus Williams was on fire for most of the Bank of the West Classic. She swatted down Maria Sharapova in a televised quarterfinal 6-2, 6-2. She felled Elena Dementevia in the semi-finals 6-1, 6-0. And then, wonder of wonders, she lost to Marion Bartoli, the French woman who swings two-handed on both sides (4-6, 6-0, 4-6).

V's father, Richard Williams, disappeared from the stands during the second set. I badly wanted Venus to win and found her unforced errors so painful to witness that I too banished myself from the stadium and instead paced downstairs along with Renee from the security detail. Maybe just maybe, I thought, I was bad luck. While Renee and I were searching for temporary religion, Mr. Williams was on a court in his flip flops smoking and hitting with Team Williams' practice partners (who, by the way, used a pink racquet -- now that's confidence). Sorry to cut Richard Williams off at the knees in the photo. Unfortunately, that's what Bartoli effectively did to Venus.

Here's a more nuanced view of Bartoli's success.