Serena fed up of furore over 'god-dang watch'

MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Reuters) She is about to contest a 10th grand slam final, yet the only thing people want to know from Serena Williams is the identity of the man behind the 'god-dang watch'.

Television pictures showed the sun reflecting off the male supporter's wrist-watch during Williams's Australian Open semi-final win over Nicole Vaidisova yesterday.

Commentators suggested it was more than coincidence the glare appeared whenever the Czech teenager was serving.

Both players laughed off the claims but a prickly Williams was once again grilled about the incident on the eve of her final showdown with Russian top seed Maria Sharapova.

''I don't know why there were so many stories about that. I found it quite funny,'' Williams, who has reached the final ranked 81st in the world, said today.

''The young man is a close friend of mine. He's been wearing that watch every day. I think everyone in the stands wears a watch.

''It's just crazy. I don't know why there's even stories about it.

''It's just another story for people to fabricate and run off on.

It's crazy that this was even brought up.

''It's completely outrageous. It's silly. Come on.'' Williams refused to identify the young man and chose to practice away from prying eyes early on Friday morning.

She also dismissed suggestions that she should ask her friend not to wear the watch in future.

''I don't see why he should take it off. No one saw the glare. I never saw the glare Vaidisova said she never saw the glare. What more is there to say? Clearly irritated with the inquisition, she snapped: ''As of now, I'm not answering any more questions about a god-dang watch.'' The incident is not being investigated by the tournament or the governing body of women's tennis.

REUTERS SAM KP1025