Richard Williams, smoking a cigarillo as he strolled past Henman Hill, has told The Tennis Space that his daughters Venus and Serena don’t care whether they have people’s respect at Wimbledon: “They don’t give a damn about that.”

Do you think people respect Venus for getting on court, for coping with her health problems and for playing? “Venus and Serena aren’t playing for other people’s respect. They respect themselves, and they have the respect of their families, but the respect of other people? They don’t give a damn about that. Venus did good. Her health has got nothing to do with it. She did good.”

Are you proud of what your daughters have achieved at Wimbledon and in tennis? “In tennis, no. I’m not proud of what they’ve done in tennis. Tennis is just a game. I’m proud of my daughters for who they are, and for what they’ve achieved outside tennis. Too many players in tennis, these champions, don’t know anything outside tennis. They haven’t been to college, tennis is all they know, and what else can they do? They stop playing and then they become coaches or TV announcers, they stay in tennis. They can’t do anything else. Most players can’t see that there’s a life beyond the baseline, that the baseline is the baseline. My daughters have been to college, they have education, and they’re not going to be broke.”