Williams sisters should be given respect they deserve

The Williams sisters have a staggering record at Wimbledon but are consistently pushed to outside courts

The Williams sisters are legends of tennis. Yet the way they are treated at times by the Wimbledon authorities is out of order.

Serena has won the Wimbledon title four times and has won 13 Grand Slam titles, yet is still sidelined to the outside courts on many occasions. Venus has won Wimbledon five times and the sisters have dominated the tournament, winning nine of the last eleven singles titles. They have also won the doubles title together four times. So why are they not given the respect they deserve?

Today, Serena was forced onto Court Two for her match against Simona Halep, making it through after a tough three-setter, but was understandably quizzical about why she wasn't allowed to play on one of the show courts.

Her argument would be that the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic appear guaranteed a place on either Centre Court or Court One, so the game still appears to be defined by sexist boundaries.

Serena is the defending champion. Like Nadal, the men's champion, she should be guaranteed each match of her defence on a show court as a reward for winning the previous year.

She has battled her way back from two career-threatening injuries - one to her foot and the other a blood clot on her lung - especially to be fit for this tournament yet authorities seem to almost wish she hadn't bothered.

The women's game is in a bit of a state at the moment. There have been a couple of cracking matches in this year's Wimbledon so far, including Venus Williams' magnificent three-setter against 40-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm and Simone Lisicki's stunning win over French Open champion Li Na, but those games mask the overall standard.

The number one ranked player, Caroline Wozniacki, has not yet won a Grand Slam and is a defensive player.

Wozniacki is number one due to winning smaller tournaments

Kim Clijsters is injured and her Belgian compatriot Justine Henin has again retired.

The Williams sisters are needed now more than ever to boost interest in the women's game and so they need to be given the platform they deserve.

Venus played her first round match out on Court Two and the organisers seem to put Venus or Serena out there whenever they can concoct an excuse to do so. It is an insult to two great champions who have devoted so much to tennis.

Neither sister should ever have to play on an outside court unless it can be helped. That would perhaps be on the second Monday of the competition, when all fourth round ties have to be played on one day.

They are two legends of the game who have defied injury to make it to Wimbledon this year and at the very least deserve some reward for their magnificent past achievements.

Their story is a remarkable one.

Richard Williams has been a key figure in his daughters' careers

Two sisters brought up in a poverty-stricken area of America, they somehow became world-class tennis players thanks to the coaching of their father, Richard, who has dedicated so much to his daughters' careers.

They have won 20 Grand Slam singles titles between them and 12 Grand Slam doubles titles together. It is amazing that two sisters made it to the top of the game together and it is surely one of the best sporting stories of all-time that for some time they were ranked one and two in the world.

The sisters have also faced each other in eight Grand Slam finals as they have truly dominated the modern era women's game.

Serena (left) beat Venus in the 2009 Wimbledon final

Both Venus and Serena are fantastic competitors and great characters who continue to lead the women's game, yet they are not widely acknowledged and acclaimed in the way they should be.

They are not even strongly supported in the stands either, with the typical British convention of rooting for the underdog apparent every time a Williams sister takes to the court.

They both come across as very genuine, warm people too. They have had disagreements with others in the past and have been accused of being arrogant and rude, but seem to have matured in recent years as both tennis players and people.

Only this week Serena arranged to meet up with five-year-old cancer sufferer Jack Marshall, who was told he had just days to live in March, and he went to watch her match today after she invited him to Wimbledon via Twitter. She revelled in making Jack's day and is also a keen supporter of many charities, yet this aspect of the Williams sisters is very rarely talked about.

They may be tough on court but off court, they are just two normal women trying to lead as normal a life as possible.

They have achieved so much in tennis but too often they are ignored and sidelined.

Playing on an outside court may seem like a small issue but when they have worked so hard to achieve what they have, it is an insult.

They deserve to be the centre of attention in the women's game but unfortunately organisers seem unwilling to reward their efforts.

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Hewitt has dropped to number 130 in the world rankings

It was great to see Lleyton Hewitt back at the top of his game against Robin Soderling in the second round but the Swede battled his way back from two sets down to beat the Australian.

Hewitt has recently dropped out of the world's top 100 after injury problems, but at 30 he still has plenty of fight and proved that against Soderling, the fifth-ranked player.

Hewitt produced some stunning diving volleys and passing shots as he showed the kind of form which took him to two Grand Slam titles and number one in the world, but Soderling was just too strong for him in the end.

Hewitt always seems to rise to the occasion at Wimbledon but doubts remain as to whether he will return for next year's tournament.

It will be a tough battle for him to continue but he is the ultimate tennis warrior and it would be just like him to be back firing next year.

I'm sure all tennis fans will be hoping he does carry on as he brings so much emotion to the court and has a great following, as well as being a fantastic player and battler.

He did himself proud against Soderling and this is surely not the last we see of Lleyton Hewitt.

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Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray are all looking in prime form

The four main contenders for the men's title - Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray - have all made easy progress to round three and all are in with a real chance of winning the title.

Nadal and Federer have to be classed as the favourites but Djokovic has been in great form this year and Murray appears to be hitting his straps at the right time.

Federer and Djokovic have been the most impressive so far but the winner is very difficult to call as it really could go to any of the four men.

It would be a surprise if all four did not make it to the semi-finals and that would set up quite a day of action at SW19.

This promises to be one of the most exciting second weeks of Wimbledon there has ever been.