Battle of the Sexes - Melbourne Park 1998

Williams sisters can't win 'Battle of the Sexes' JANUARY 27, 1998

MELBOURNE, Australia -- It was the Battle of the Sexes without all the glitz, a daring bid by Serena and Venus Williams to back up their bold claim that they could beat any man ranked No. 200 or lower.
Not even close.
The sisters discovered, much to their chagrin, that they're no match for the men on the ATP Tour. At least not yet.

First Serena, then Venus challenged No. 203 Karsten Braasch to a set apiece at the Australian Open on Tuesday, and he beat them both. Serena fell 6-1, Venus 6-2. They played as intensely as they could, but Braasch performed with gentlemanly restraint.
"It was extremely hard," said 16-year-old Serena. "I didn't know it would be that hard. I hit shots that would have been winners on the WTA Tour, and he got to them easily."
That didn't stop her from boasting that, "this time next year I'll beat him. I have to pump some weight. . . . I have to work hard to be on the men's tour."
Venus, 17, wasn't about to concede too much, either, especially since she broke Braasch once.
"I can beat men in the 300s and up," she said. "He thought we couldn't get a point. He didn't think we could play. We showed him we could."
Asked if she might not want to take on players on the senior tour, or retired men, as Billie Jean King did against 1939 Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs in their ballyhooed Battle of the Sexes in 1973, Venus shook her beaded head.

"I'm going for the young guns," she said.
Braasch smiled at their claims.
"Against anyone in the top 500, no chance," he said. "Because I was playing like 600 today."

The sisters played Braasch on Court 12 in the boondocks of the Australian Open complex. A few hundred fans and players who wandered by watched along with a crowd of media. No umpire, no linesmen, no ball boys, no scoreboard. And no prize money or bets. Only pride was at stake.

It all began a few days ago when the Williams sisters walked into the ATP Tour office at the Australian Open and issued their challenge to any player ranked 200 or above. The bespectacled Braasch, a German who has sunk in the rankings after reaching No. 38 in 1994, happened to be in the office and took up the challenge.
Venus still was in the tournament at the time, so a match was set between Serena and Braasch for Sunday. Rain postponed that until Tuesday, and, with the sun shining, Serena and Braasch showed up ready to defend the honor of their sexes.

"Everyone knew that there's no chance for them," said Braasch, who lost last week in singles and doubles. "They were talking to me, that I should go out and beat them by as much as possible. They said make it 24 points and go off the court."

The Williams sisters are bringing new life to the women's tour, even if they couldn't beat Braasch. Venus reached the final of the U.S. Open and the quarters in Australia. Serena has beaten three top 10 players since turning pro a few months ago. Each has the personality and flash to make the sport more popular than ever.

Braasch, a lefthanded junkball expert with a convoluted service motion, won the first five games against Serena and ran her dizzy.
Against Venus, Braasch lost his own serve to 4-2 when Venus cracked a sizzling forehand. But he stepped up his pace, overpowered Venus on her serve and closed the set with an ace.
"I took at least 50 percent off my serve," Braasch said. "I came out with a few hard ones, but not too much because then it's not fun anymore, and it was supposed to be fun."