Williams Refuses to Play against Male Counterparts

"Have no intent to compete with men."

No. 1 female tennis player Serena Williams (USA) made it clear she would not compete against male counterparts.

Williams topped the season second major of France Open. Now she is on top of the world ranking, too.

Prior to Williams, pro golfer Annika Sorenstam received an invitation to a cross-gender competition and did it herself.

Yesterday, Williams said, "I was deeply moved by Sorenstam and her achievement. But, I don`t want to play against men. I wished she had done it better. But I think she did really well." When asked what she would do if she was tempted again, she replied, "I`m not swayed by temptation."

Previously in 1973, then world male and female superstars played with each other, and the victory went to the latter.

From last France Open, Williams has won five major championships.

In the meanwhile, No. 60 Lee Hyung-tack will take on a Spanish player today in the first round. So far, Lee has not won any game n this Open. He is confident he could win a game this time. This year, he defeated all of his four Spanish competitors.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com