Now That They’re Even, Sisters Have News for Everyone

The interaction between Venus and Serena Williams is fascinating, especially after a major tournament.

They finish each other’s sentences, jump in with thoughts, then jump out. Generally, 20-year-old Venus can deliver a funny line with a straight face. Serena, at 18, can’t do that, often breaking up at her own jokes.

Serena was talking about a long-dormant family newsletter on Monday, two days after Venus had won the Wimbledon women’s singles and about an hour after the sisters had won the doubles title.

“There’s a millennium issue coming out after Wimbledon,” she said.

Venus: “Oh really?”

Serena: “A lot of things happened this year. Pete [Sampras] won his 13th title.”

She paused, waiting to see what Venus would say. A composed Venus outwaited her sister.

Serena couldn’t hold back and laughed, saying: “I think Venus might get the cover story, something pretty big happened.”

She was recovering from the Wimbledon semifinal loss to her sister a lot faster than Venus had seemed to rally from her U.S. Open semifinal defeat by Martina Hingis, and then having to watch Serena win the family’s first Grand Slam singles title last September.

It was almost as though, in Serena’s mind, the score between them was 1-1. The next major showdown will be in New York.

Venus was asked about her immediate goal?

“For me, the U.S. Open,” she said.

Serena quickly chimed in, “For me too.”

Neither has a shot at No. 1 until 2001, the gap after No. 1 Hingis and No. 2 Lindsay Davenport being too wide. Venus, ranked No. 3, had tendinitis in both wrists and has played only four events this year. Serena, ranked seventh, missed two months because of a knee injury.

On paper, the sisters may not be the top women in the game. But psychologically, which is maybe more important, the landscape shifted quite a bit after their performances at Wimbledon.

They looked formidable, and Serena acknowledged that the other players are probably going to start practicing a little harder. They have pushed others to improve before, and it will probably happen again.

In the meantime, they are ready to continue on their acquisition phase, seizing titles and computer points.

“We’re both going to try to get as much as we can,” Venus said.

“We’re both really greedy,” seconded Serena.

ON AND OFF MARK

Patrick Rafter might have lost Wimbledon in a tight four-set final against Sampras, but, he didn’t look like a loser in Australia on Monday.

Unlike Mark Philippoussis, Rafter will be playing in the Davis Cup semifinals against Brazil at Brisbane, Australia, later this week, an extremely tough travel turnaround after a hectic fortnight in Britain.

If he had won, he was prepared to miss the Champions’ dinner, if necessary. Rafter ended up catching a flight out of London Monday morning.

Rafter’s stature kept on growing when it was announced Saturday that Philippoussis had withdrawn from the Davis semifinal because of tendinitis in his knee. A skeptical Rafter came close to ripping his countryman then, but held off until after the final Sunday.

“It’s disappointing,” Rafter said. “I guess he doesn’t feel like playing Davis Cup. I just wish he’d come out and say something. I’d respect him a lot more for it than jerking it around, telling us he’s going to play, then not showing up to play.

“It’s always 50-50,” Rafter said. “Even though he says he’s playing, you always think it’s 50-50. We try to give him the 50-50 benefit of the doubt. In his mind, it’s probably 10%.”

Rafter was asked if he felt like telling Philippoussis to buzz off.

“I think it’s come to that point now,” Rafter said. “Just say something. If you don’t like playing, that’s fine. Just tell us what it is, then we can leave him alone.”

Despite his loss in the final, Rafter was showing his usual humorous spirit.

Asked about Roy Emerson’s state of mind after losing the Grand Slam singles record to Sampras, Rafter said: “He’s an easygoing bloke. I don’t think he’s going to really give two . . . Do I get fined for [saying] that?”

DAVIS CUP II

The status of Sampras for the U.S. semifinal match in Spain later this month has been in doubt since he injured his left shin the first week of Wimbledon. Unlike Rafter, he does not have to play this weekend.

Sampras’ representatives said he would decide what to do in the next couple of days, and could decide to play only doubles.

U.S. captain John McEnroe will announce the team Wednesday.

“It’s hard to say at this point,” Sampras said Sunday. “I’ve taken some pretty aggressive measures to play here. It’s time to let this thing heal properly. But I’ll do whatever I can to make the trip. How effective I’ll be, I don’t know. If things are good, I’m planning on going.”