I was busy typing some material, watching this new documentary series unfold, expecting to manage the two operations back & forth, my usual TV habit these days. But I couldn't go back to my writing: even though as a fan I had watched the rise of the Williams sisters in real time this documentary depiction was so concise and well-paced that I couldn't turn away.
Having both sisters provide the narration and points-of-view was the not-so secret sauce of the documentary's success. So many docus suffer fatally from lack of participation of the principals, often emerging as hostile or revisionist, but this one gives fresh insight into what the spectacular athletes were going through and feeling at the time.
The interaction between Serena and Venus is at the heart of the story, and I was initially surprised that this documentary was premised upon Serena rather than both. Is this for commercial reasons, in that Serena ultimately became the greatest tennis player of all time? At any rate, the documentary gives Venus and her own story plenty of coverage so I can't complain. And of course, it's also wonderful to see snippets of so many great opponents of the 1990s: Hingis, Graf, Seles, Davenport, Mauresmo - certainly no cakewalk for either sister on their way up.
