Respect rules as Williams sisters meet in Wimbledon final today
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WIMBLEDON, England -- Venus Williams is nearly the perfect older sibling: She supports Serena endlessly, protects her fiercely and lets her pick which bedroom she wants when they are on the road.
Where does Venus draw the line? At Grand Slam championships.
The sisters face each other again in a major final, meeting today for the Wimbledon title for the fourth time and second time in a row.
"I'm happy for her to be in the final, but I have to face her and defeat her," Venus said after reaching her eighth final at the All England Club by routing top-ranked Dinara Safina, 6-1, 6-0, Thursday. "I don't necessarily want her to lose, but, for sure, I want me to win."
Besides having won five Wimbledon singles titles, beating Serena in the final last year, Venus is trying to become the first woman to win three consecutive championships since Steffi Graf from 1991-93.
"Even if she's not playing her best, just that fight she has, you're facing that," Venus said. "So there's so much to face when you play her. It's definitely a lot to get your mind around."
Serena showed her fight Thursday, saving a match point against Elena Dementieva before winning, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6. The match, longer in time than any Wimbledon women's semifinal or final on record, was one of the most exciting of this tournament.
But, if that was tough, wait until Serena faces an opponent that has won 20 consecutive matches on Wimbledon's manicured lawns, the last 17 in straight sets.
"You know, it's not the easiest opponent on grass," Serena said. "I hope I win. Obviously, if I do, I'll be really, really excited. So we'll see."
Off the court, the sisters often share an apartment for Wimbledon, and sibling rivalry doesn't really come into play when it comes to choosing the better room.
"I always defer. She picks first," said Venus, noting that back home in Florida their rooms are the same size. "It makes me happy. You know, I want her to pick."
On the court, things get more intense when they are on opposite sides of the net.
"I feel very calm, actually," said Venus, who is 2-5 against Serena in Grand Slam finals. "But, of course, I'm going to bring the tough feet to the court."
For Serena, it's just more of the same.
"We're used to being in this position now, so we pretty much have it down," Serena said yesterday after she and Venus beat top-seeded Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 6-1, 6-2, in the doubles semifinal.
But even though Serena beat Venus in the 2002 and '03 Wimbledon singles finals, she already feels like the underdog against a player trying to win her sixth Venus Rosewater Dish.
"I feel like going into this final I have nothing to lose," said Serena, who at 27 years old is two years younger than Venus. "I feel like obviously she's playing the best tennis at this tournament."
The final today will pit two players with two of the best serves on tour, and both had them working pretty well in the semifinals. Venus holds the tour record for fastest serve at 129 mph, although she had only five aces against Safina. Serena, however, smacked a tournament-high 20 aces against Dementieva.
"I definitely owe this win to my serve," Serena said, referring to her victory over the fourth-seeded Russian. "I lost serve a couple times, but, when it was key and it was time for me to hold serve, I was able to hold serve."
Against each other, there are no secrets. The sisters have been coached by their father, Richard, and mother, Oracene Price, since the beginning.
"We both play such a similar game. I mean, we had the same teacher," Venus said. "But what I can tell you is the same is the respect that we have for each other on and off the court."
Serena -- with 10 major titles, three more than her sister -- feels that Venus has a little something that she would like to emulate.
"Her positive attitude," Serena said.
"I get negative a lot. I think it creates who I am as a person, but it's good to stay positive and stay calm."
First Published July 4, 2009 12:00 am
