Former World No. 1 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario believes she was not portrayed in the best light in the movie King Richard. The Spaniard described the movie as "epic", but stressed that the way her character was shown on the big screen was not accurate.
King Richard is a film about Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, and how he shaped the sisters into legendary athletes. One scene in the film shows a 14-year-old Venus taking on Sanchez Vicario at the Bank of the West Classic.
Venus was in complete control of the match and led by a set and 3-1, before Sanchez Vicario apparently took a bathroom break. This proved to be the turning point as the Spaniard went on to win the match.
Speaking about the matter in an appearance on Spanish radio program El Larguero, Sanchez Vicario said the incident was over dramatized and "totally incorrect."
"The moment they painted me as a very bad person was when I am losing 2-6 and 1-3 is totally incorrect. I was in the lead, as far as I know," Vicario was quoted as saying by Marca. "It is impossible that I would have left the court with 1-3 because you can never leave in even games, if anything I would have left in 2-3. The bathroom break is limited. I would have been penalized if I had stayed longer. The thing is, that gives the importance to the film. There is no other way for the film to be relevant.
"I have had a brilliant career, nobody gave me anything to achieve what I got and I don't understand the meaning of them taking that out. I recommend it because it's an epic movie and it talks about effort. "
The former World No. 1 insisted, however, that she has a good relationship with Richard Williams.
"I have a good relationship with Richard Williams and when his two daughters were on the circuit everyone talked about Venus and I told to the father 'the one who is going to be really good and is going to earn more is going to be Serena.' I saw them play and I knew that Serena was going to be better than Venus. I know both of them, I have faced them many times," she added.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario played 16 matches against the Williams sisters
The Spaniard played 16 times against the Williams sisters, nine against Venus and seven against Serena.
Sanchez Vicario trails 3-6 in the head-to-head against Venus. She won their first two meetings but Venus went on to dominate the remainder of their rivalry. Their last meeting came in Hamburg in 2002.
The Spaniard has won four out of her seven matches against Serena Williams, with their last meeting coming in the semifinals of the Canadian Open in 2000.
Venus Williams and Father Richard recall one match that 7-time Grand Slam champion "should have won"