Mum's protection racket

If all the talk about their parents is true, Alexandra Stevenson's quarter-final match against 16-year-old Jelena Dokic will be fought on two fronts. Her outspoken mother, Samantha, has taken the tennis world to task over allegations that her daughter has been subject to racial abuse by other players and that lesbianism is rife on the women's tour.

She also went to war on behalf of her daughter over the £50,280 prize money won for making the quarter-finals.

Stevenson appears to have changed from being an amateur to a professional very recently and there were indications that her amateur status would prevent her from taking the money.

"We'll get an attorney. There is going to be a dog fight. The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) can be very dictatorial, but we are right and they are wrong," said her mother. The organisers have already appeared to back down on that issue.

Alexandra, who was born from a mixed marriage, came through yesterday's fourth-round match against fellow American Lisa Raymond 2-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-1, to set up a possible semi-final meeting with either Lynsday Davenport or Jana Novotna.

"The way a few of the players treated Venus and Serena Williams when they first came on the tour was a disgrace," said Stevenson's mother, a former contracted sports writer with the New York Times.

"You would not believe the comments that her opponents make to me during her matches, but Alexandra is a strong person and she enjoys the tour despite the negative aspects."

Yesterday the 18-year-old from San Diego read out a prepared statement saying that her mother merely expressed her family's view of life and that she was right to do so.

"At Roehampton, I was called a nigger in the juniors, and when you think about it there is racism everywhere in the world," said Stevenson.

"It means a great deal to me to reach the quarter-finals because I represent both African American and Caucasian, so I think it's great for both sides."

Stevenson went on to say that the abusive remark was made over a year ago and that it doesn't matter any more. Her mother's more pointed remarks, as four of the eight quarter-finalists are teenagers, are bound to linger a little longer. "It's an absolute jungle out there; a big, bad place. There are lots of mothers here and we call ourselves `Power Mums' to protect our girls," she said.

Times are changing on the women's tour.