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Thursday, July 17
A ludicrous debate
By MaliVai Washington

I cannot believe for the life of me that the Williams sisters are being criticized for being a level above every other player on the tour for once again appearing in a Grand Slam final together.

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MaliVai Washington
Washington
Former ATP Tour pro MaliVai Washington is providing ESPN.com with in-depth analysis during Wimbledon. Washington, a tennis analyst for ESPN, reached the 1996 Wimbledon final.

In all of my years of tennis, it has always been a tournament director's dream to have the No. 1 and 2 seeds or the No. 1 and 2 players in the final. And that's what we've seen with Venus and Serena in three of the past four majors.

I don't know if it's player jealousy or if people just think there's too much power in their game or if it's the color of their skin. Or maybe it's the fact that because they're sisters in the finals they don't seem to be as intense as they are against others -- especially Venus. But it baffles me that people would be critical of a matchup that pits the two best players in the world. I always thought it would be the dream final when you have that.

Now it's up to all of the other players to raise their level to challenge Venus and Serena. If they are not able to raise their level to become more powerful, more athletic and better tacticians, then we'll continue to see Venus and Serena in major finals.

But I hope people realize what they are witnessing. Without question, these are two great players, and we're seeing something that's never been done before. The scary thing is the two of them could be around winning majors for the next 10 years. So I think people should take notice of what these two are really doing and accomplishing in the sport. This is what history books are written for.

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