Venus and Serena Williams have won a combined 27 Grand Slam singles titles. They have both reached No. 1 in the world. They once played each other in four straight Grand Slam finals.
On Monday at Wimbledon, the sisters will meet in the fourth round—and it could be the toughest, most emotional and most memorable match of their sibling rivalry.
WIMBLEDON 2015
Fourth round, Monday
- (1) Serena Williams vs. (16) Venus Williams, 8 a.m. ET
If it seems odd to attach so much significance to such an early encounter, consider the implications.
Serena, 33, has won three straight major titles. If she wins Wimbledon, she would hold all four major titles at once, a feat she achieved once before, in 2003. If Williams wins Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in September, she will be the first player to win a single-season Grand Slam, male or female, since Steffi Graf in 1988. (The last man to do it was Rod Laver in 1969.
Venus, 35, is in one of those rare, late-career revivals that champions dream about. She has improved her world ranking to 16th from 103rd four years ago. As Wimbledon is the site of five of her seven career major titles, including her last in 2008, this may be her best chance to win one more.
“There’s so much on the line for both of them,” said Mary Joe Fernandez, the captain of the U.S. Fed Cup team that has featured both Williams sisters this season. “It used to be, ‘We have 10 years left.’ They don’t have that now. Whoever wins is going to be like, ‘Whoa, I’m so sorry.’ ”
This will be the 26th meeting between the sisters. (Serena leads, 14-11.) It has never been easy for them to play each other.
“We both want each other to win when we’re not playing each other,” Venus Williams said. “So there’s a difference. Whereas other players, I’m not watching whether they win or lose.”
Serena is ordinarily so intense that three straight mistakes are liable to result in a shattered racket. Against her sister, though, she is usually subdued. Venus relies heavily on her powerful first serve, but her confidence can crumble when Serena, the best serve returner in tennis, steps inside the baseline and starts swatting balls into the corners.
“In the beginning it was hard because I was younger,” Serena Williams said. “But now it’s absolutely nothing. Only thing for me is I’m playing the toughest player I’ve played in women’s tennis.”
The expectations for Williams versus Williams have often been so high that the actual quality of their rivalry, in tennis terms, has been obscured. They have produced several compelling matches and have given each other more trouble than any other opponents.
Serena hasn’t lost more than seven matches to any other player in her career. Venus also lost 14 matches to Lindsay Davenport, but she beat Davenport 13 times. Ten of the Williams sisters’ matches have lasted three sets. That is 40%. Some context: Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who played each other 80 times and arguably had the most compelling rivalry in the history of tennis, men or women, played 28 three-set matches (35%).
The most recent meeting between the Williams sisters, a three-set victory by Venus in Montreal last summer, was one of their best. For two hours they traded aces (Serena hit 19), baseline blasts, swinging volleys and a few highflying lobs.
Serena controlled the middle of the court and belted the ball. Venus scrambled from side to side, her speed and stamina much better since she improved her flexibility and adjusted to life with Sjögren’s syndrome, an energy-sapping autoimmune disease. Serena yelled more than she usually does; Venus clenched her fist after handcuffing her sister with a body serve to end the match. After match point, Serena lifted her racket over her shoulder and looked ready to smash it into the ground before flinching. She stared and looked deeply unhappy as she walked to the net.
Another relevant fact from Montreal last year: Although Venus beat her sister, she had little left for the final and lost. If Venus wins on Monday, she might face former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who has beaten her twice this year, the next day. She could also play Maria Sharapova, who has won five of their eight meetings, in the semifinals. But that isn’t necessarily bad news. Azarenka has never advanced past the Wimbledon semifinals. Sharapova, who won a title here in 2004, has lost to Venus Williams twice at Wimbledon.
On Saturday, everyone’s title hopes—including Venus and Serena’s—received an unexpected boost: Petra Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon champion, lost. If either Williams sister reaches the final, she will face a woman who has never won this title.
The Williams sisters have played each other five times at Wimbledon (Serena leads 3-2), but this will be the first time they have met before the semifinals.
“It’s unfortunate that it’s so soon,” Serena Williams said. “But we’re going to do the best that we can. I mean, she’s my sister today. She’s my sister next week. She’s my sister next year. I think that’s a little more important than a match.”
Wall Street Journal
