Net result: Another sister act
Venus, Serena Williams will square off in final
Scouting? Not really. More like rooting. And when Thursday's second semifinal ended, Williams stood, smiling and applauding for the woman who won, the woman she will have to beat to earn a fifth championship at the All England Club: her younger sister, Serena.
The most unusual and, at times, uncomfortable rivalry in tennis is once more in the spotlight at the pinnacle of the sport: Venus will play Serena in their third all-in-the-family Wimbledon final Saturday.
It's their seventh Grand Slam title match — Serena holds a 5-1 edge over her sister — but first final at any tournament since 2003.
"Our main focus is obviously both of us getting to the final," Venus said. "Then, from there, it's every Williams for themself."
While there are, of course, differences in personality (Venus calls herself a nerd; Serena is more extroverted) and game (Venus' serve is faster, for example, and Serena's return is considered better), the siblings' paths to what will be their 16th head-to-head matchup were remarkably similar.
How unsurprising were Thursday's results? Consider this: The sisters are now a combined 100-13 at Wimbledon for their careers; Dementieva and Zheng are a combined 29-13.
"We've both been working extremely hard," said Serena, who holds an 8-7 career edge over Venus. "It's just coming together."
Both have been ranked No. 1, but a combination of injuries and inactivity contributed to Venus being No. 7 now, and Serena No. 6. All of the top four-seeded women were gone by the quarterfinals, the first time that's ever happened at Wimbledon, which cleared the way a bit for the sisters.
Then again, the way they've been playing over these two weeks, and the way they always seem to play on grass, who's to say it would have made a difference? Back on May 30, when the city was Paris and the surface clay, first Serena, then Venus, lost in the third round at the French Open.
A little more than a month later, defending champion Venus, 28, will be going for her fifth title at Wimbledon, and seventh major overall; Serena, 26, will be going for her third title at Wimbledon, and ninth major overall.
They've combined for 11 finals appearances since 2000 at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, where Serena beat Venus for the 2002 and 2003 titles.
Recent comments
congrats to Venus and Serena. they represent the USA so very well...
Gretzky | July 4, 2008 at 1:15 p.m.
I love it!
Dog | July 4, 2008 at 12:00 p.m.
