It's not just the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world -- Wimbledon is always good for plenty of gossip. Here's a quick look at this year's off-the-court shenanigans as the tournament heads into its final weekend:
Last year it was the women's draw that got most of the attention for the revelation that Alexandra Stevenson's father was NBA legend Julius Erving. This year it was another parent who walked off with the headlines: Richard Williams, whose daughters, 20-year-old Venus and 18-year-old Serena, met in the semifinals Thursday.
While Venus and Serena's mother, Oracene, stayed away from the tournament, feeding rumors of a possible separation with their father, Richard continued to talk, as he has all winter and spring, about the sisters walking away from tennis. Things got really weird when the sisters qualified to play each other in Thursday's semifinal. Richard announced that he wouldn't attend the match. "I won't be there," he said Tuesday. "I've seen enough already. I'll be somewhere having a Heineken. My first drink since '58. Because it's Venus and Serena. I've already won."
Williams said he would attend the funeral of a man he didn't know instead of the semifinal match, but it turned out the man's funeral was Wednesday, not Thursday. He seemed to waver Wednesday in comments to reporters. "I don't know, maybe I'll go watch 'em play," he said. "I don't really want to, but if they insist on it ... maybe."
Meanwhile, rumors circulated that the fix was in for Venus to win, since Serena had won the U.S. Open, where Venus lost in the semifinal to Martina Hingis.
Thursday rolled around and Richard played ball boy during his daughters' workout but disappeared soon after for a walk during the match, despite Venus' having said she and Serena wanted him to stay. Venus beat Serena in straight sets, and Richard told reporters, "I didn't see one point at all. I wouldn't watch it. This was too emotional for me. I didn't sleep last night. I was crying when I heard Serena lost. Tears came to my eyes then. To sit there and watch it, I couldn't do that ... I'm glad it's over. It's been a major league stress on me."
And was there an arrangement for Serena to lose? "No, not that I'm aware of," Venus said. "I can't respond to no one," said their father. "I think people have a right to say whatever they wish to say."
Richard did say he'd attend Saturday when Venus meets Lindsay Davenport in an all-American final.
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The Williams family drama has dominated the Wimbledon headlines, but they haven't been the whole show. Some more highlights:
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