Australian tennis officials, fans disgusted over soft stance on erring Serena - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

With less than a month to go for the Australian Open, angry Australian tennis officials and fans have expressed their outrage over the International Tennis Federation's decision not to ban American tennis star Serena Williams from the Australian Open for her verbal tirade against a lineswoman during this year's US Open. ''We are disgusted that a player who launched a bitter and malicious attack on a lineswoman could escape with a relatively meagre fine,'' said one official. The Courier Mail and The Daily Telegraph further quoted the official, as saying: ''What sort of message does this send when we are trying to impose high standards of discipline on the next generation of Australian stars?'' Williams was fined 175,000 dollars and told to keep herself clean for the next two years. She was charged with launching a profane assault on a lineswoman who dared call ''foot fault'' at the US Open. That was the one where Williams approached the lineswoman and said: ''I swear to God I'm f---ing going to take this f---ing ball and shove it down your f---ing throat and kill you.''