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Williams rivalry takes center stage at Wimbledon
by Matt Cronin, Special to FOXSports.com
Familiar final
You would if you were 28 years old, a year removed from your last significant title and owning a history of troublesome injuries that likely places you just a few years from retirement.
You would if you wanted to etch yourself further into Wimbledon history as being one of the greatest players ever to grace the court.
"It's every Williams for themselves," said Venus after her 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over Russia's Elena Dementieva in the semifinals. "Obviously I rely on my serve a lot. When I get it going it helps me out a ton. I think being able to go out there and return really well will be key for me. I'll definitely use my speed. As always, to win a title, you've got to play aggressive and not just hope that your opponent misses."
Neither Williams sister has been missing much, having not dropped a set during the tournament. Like Venus, Serena was pulled around a bit from the backcourt during her 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Chinese wildcard Jie Zheng, but she survived nonetheless behind a blazing serve and bullet return.
As sporadic as Venus has been in the past four years coming into Wimbledon, she is Pete Sampras-esque on the lawns, blowing holes in the court with her 125-mph first serve, cruising along the baseline and lacing winners and ably stretching out at net to put away volleys. Two of her last five titles have been at Wimbledon and should she win on Saturday, it will be three out of six — an even 50 percent.
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- Day 12: Women's F |
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- Day 6: Women | | | Women
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Analysis:
- Cronin: Nadal makes case for No. 1
- Pierce: Federer shows his mettle
- Cronin: Venus, Serena at their best
Others:
- Draws: Men's singles | Women's singles
- PHOTOS: Men's final | Women's final | Men's SF | Women's SF | Men's QF
- Results: Men Women | Ranks | Schedule
Partners:
"The surface really suits her game because she doesn't like to play long rallies," Dementieva said. "She doesn't like to play long matches. So it's an excellent surface for her. She likes to hit hard. She has a good serve."
Serena leads their strange yet intriguing rivalry 8-7, winning their last contest 7-6 in the third set earlier this year in Bangalore, in a match few people outside of India saw, and one that was extremely competitive and very well-fought.
Before that, they hadn't contested a match since the 2005 U.S. Open, a 7-6, 6-2 victory for Venus in the fourth round.
Overall they've played nine times at Grand Slams. Venus dominated the early going, winning their first match in the round of 16 at the 1998 Aussie Open, their second in a romp in the 2000 Wimbledon semifinals that ended with Serena crying through the last few points, and their third in the 2001 U.S. Open final.
A more well-rounded and headier player early on, Venus won five of their first six matches, but then came 2002, when a more seasoned, in-shape and ambitious Serena took off.
She beat Venus in five straight major finals: the 2002 French, 2002 Wimbledon, 2002 U.S. Open, 2003 Australian and 2003 Wimbledon. The last was their most notorious contest, when in an attempt to defend her family honor, Venus heroically went out to face Serena in the final despite tearing a stomach muscle in her semifinal victory over Kim Clijsters. Later, Venus said that had it not been for the enormous pressure she was under due to ridiculous suspicions that they predetermined the outcomes of their matches, she would not have played.
That gutsy yet questionable decision cost her the rest of her season.
The two wouldn't play each other for another year and a half, when Venus stopped a six-match losing streak against her sister in Miami. Later that year, Venus took her out in that sleepy round-of-16 clash at the U.S. Open, when Serena came in out of shape and injured.
The Wimbledon final on Saturday will be only the second time they've played in the past three years, a sad fact given how much they bring to the court. But injuries, off-court personal issues and much-improved competition from other elite players like Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and now Ana Ivanovic, have helped pushed them out of the top five.
Since their 2003 Wimbledon final, they have each won just two Grand Slam titles — Venus at the 2005 and 2007 Wimbledons and Serena at the 2005 and 2007 Australian Opens.
"I don't think a lot of players could imagine it," Venus said. "I think that a lot of players never have a sibling that's a world-class athlete, and they also find themselves a world-class athlete at the top of their game. That's a blessing in itself."
The Williams clashes are always interesting in their build-up, but not always high-level theater on court. They've played some rousing points before, and even a terrific match, the 2003 Australian Open, when Venus took Serena to 6-4 in the third set. But many of their matches have been flat, because they have similar strengths (serve, return, speed and power) and know each other's game so well that they often are playing cat and mouse with each other, rather than cat and cat.
Expect the two sisters to fight like starving lionesses in this one. But you won't hear Serena screaming like she does when she goes to war with Sharapova, or Venus glaring like she does when she faces Jelena Jankovic. It's a more muted affair.
"Traditionally I haven't screamed as much when I played her," Serena said. "I don't know why. Maybe I just want to stay focused."
But this final means a great deal to the both of them. Neither has won a Grand Slam this year and both are coming off lousy performances at the French Open. If Serena wins the title, she'll own nine Grand Slams crowns, tying her with the great Serbian-American, Monica Seles.
Serena has said that she wants to go well into the double digits in Grand Slams, and although she claims she could play for another decade, her troublesome left knee probably won't allow that. Venus would like to creep closer to Serena and snare her seventh Slam title overall and gain some momentum heading into the Summer Olympics and the U.S. Open, a title she hasn't won in six years.
"This is a Grand Slam. This is history. We both are trying to make our mark. We're just talking Grand Slam totals. That's what counts," Serena said with a smile.
The key for both women is simple:
Venus has to serve very well in order to keep Serena off her back. Serena has to serve well and go after Venus' second serves. Steady play from the backcourt and well-directed passing shots will also be key, as both are fine volleyers.
Both are tremendous athletes, but this will be very much a mental battle. Whoever wants it more and can keep her nerves intact will come out on top. That player should be elder sister Venus, but if sassy little sister Serena gets into her head, beware.
"It's easy, especially with sibling rivalry," Serena said. "I personally want everything that Venus has. She wins a trophy, I would desperately want it. I would be eager to have it. We're good at this now. We just leave everything out on the court. This is the finals of Wimbledon. Who doesn't want it?"
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