Bear-Arms
Mentor
Tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams flatly refused to take the same flight to South Korea where they are both scheduled to play a goodwill match in September, Itar Tass reported Monday. Moreover, Sharapova has asked the organizers to be accommodated in a different hotel from Williams.
Both Maria and Venus said they had no desire at all to bump into each other on the plane.
"We were initially going to bring both of them aboard the same plane, but at the strong insistence of both sides, who said they didn't want to run into each other in the narrow confines of first class, we are bringing them to Korea on separate planes," the managing group was quoted by the Chosun news website as saying.
Sharapova's flight from Los Angeles will arrive at Incheon International Airport at 4:50 p.m. on Sept. 16, while Williams' plane from New York will arrive about 10 minutes later.
The Russian also insisted that she would stay in a different hotel, Itar Tass adds.
"Since many fans will flock to Sharapova, Williams' pride might be hurt, so we plan to put them in separate hotels," one of the organizers was quoted by Chosun news as saying.
The idea for the match came from the Russian tennis star, who won the Hansol Korea Open last year and said she wanted to return to Korea because of her happy memories of the nation. However, when the organizers proposed putting her up against Williams, she was initially against the idea. This summer Sharapova lost the semi-finals of Wimbledon to the American, who eventually won the tournament.
[url]http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/08/29/sharapovawilliams.sht ml[/url]Edited by: Bear-Arms
Both Maria and Venus said they had no desire at all to bump into each other on the plane.
"We were initially going to bring both of them aboard the same plane, but at the strong insistence of both sides, who said they didn't want to run into each other in the narrow confines of first class, we are bringing them to Korea on separate planes," the managing group was quoted by the Chosun news website as saying.
Sharapova's flight from Los Angeles will arrive at Incheon International Airport at 4:50 p.m. on Sept. 16, while Williams' plane from New York will arrive about 10 minutes later.
The Russian also insisted that she would stay in a different hotel, Itar Tass adds.
"Since many fans will flock to Sharapova, Williams' pride might be hurt, so we plan to put them in separate hotels," one of the organizers was quoted by Chosun news as saying.
The idea for the match came from the Russian tennis star, who won the Hansol Korea Open last year and said she wanted to return to Korea because of her happy memories of the nation. However, when the organizers proposed putting her up against Williams, she was initially against the idea. This summer Sharapova lost the semi-finals of Wimbledon to the American, who eventually won the tournament.
[url]http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/08/29/sharapovawilliams.sht ml[/url]Edited by: Bear-Arms
