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MIAMI - America's Serena Williams was the target of a racist heckler at the Sony Ericsson tournament yesterday, but held her nerve to record a third round victory over Czech Lucie Safarova.
Late in her 6-3 6-4 win over Safarova, the three-times champion in Miami complained to chair
umpire Joan Vornbaum about the verbal abuse being directed at her by a spectator, who she said had been harassing her the entire match.
The WTA confirmed the spectator was removed by security staff and turned over to Miami Dade police.
"The guy said, 'Hit the net like a Negro would'," Williams said.
"I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. I had to do a double take. I think I hit a double fault at that point.
"Who says these things outside of first grade. At a professional venue you don't do that. It was shocking, I couldn't believe he would stoop to that level."
Playing in her first event since winning the Australian Open in January, Williams said she had tried to ignore the heckling but had enough when the taunts became racist.
"I really should have said something sooner," she added. "Even the people out there were pointing to who he was.
"The guy was saying things that shouldn't have been said. It was derogatory.
"Then every time I missed a shot or serve, he would say, 'That's the way to do it'.
"It was outrageous. I couldn't believe what he said."
It is not the first time that Williams has been the target of hecklers and racist taunts.
At Indian Wells in 2001, Serena and her sister Venus were loudly jeered and verbally abused when Venus withdrew from a semifinal match between the pair.
Their father, Richard, maintains that the boos were racially-motivated and the sisters have boycotted the Masters Series event ever since.
In women's play, second seed Justine Henin was also in supreme form cruising into the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-2 win over Russia's Vera Zvonareva, a win which ensures she will hold onto top spot in the rankings for another week.
Her Belgian compatriot and fourth seed Kim Clijsters, who will retire before the end of season, said goodbye to her US fans with 4-6 6-4 6-2 loss to China's Li Na.
World men's No 1 Roger Federer moved closer to a hat-trick of titles, easing into the fourth round with 7-5 6-3 win over Spain's Nicolas Almagro.
Federer, bidding to bounce back from a shock second round loss at Indian Wells and become the first player since Andre Agassi to win three consecutive titles in Miami, never hit top gear against Almagro as he improved his season record to 14-1.
Almagro kept the Swiss at bay through a close opening set that had looked headed for tie-break until he double-faulted while serving at 6-5 to hand Federer the break and a 1-0 lead.
The Spaniard marched angrily towards his seat, slamming his racquet onto the court and was never again a threat as Federer recorded the early break in the second on way to a commanding 4-1 advantage.
Federer said: "I had to be very concentrated because I knew he is big hitter and I'm still looking to come back into my rhythm after not having many matches the last few week.
"If I look at the match, I feel it was a pretty good match."
American qualifier Amer Delic posted the day's biggest upset when he stopped fourth seed Russian Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 6-3 to claim the first top 10 scalp of his career.
- REUTERS