Sibling Revelry

They were smiling and laughing about the prospect of playing one another on the world sporting stage, even if it was far from home, thousands of miles from their practice courts in Florida. If Venus and Serena Williams were unsettled about playing one another at the Australian Open on Jan. 21, 1998, that emotion remained well below the surface.

After it was over--older sister Venus defeated younger sister Serena--they linked hands and bowed, beaming, a cute curtain call for the fans in Melbourne. More than two years later, the smiles and laughter were replaced by a double fault on match point and tears from the Wimbledon semifinal loser, Serena, who was comforted by the semifinal winner, Venus.

What exactly happened between professional match No. 1 and the fifth time the sisters played?

For one, little sister beat big sister to home plate, so to speak. Unexpectedly, Serena won the first singles Slam of the family, taking the 1999 U.S. Open in convincing fashion in New York. Venus, saddened on the sideline, looked like she was in hiding under her hooded jacket.

Serena beat Venus for the first, and only time, later in 1999 at the Grand Slam Cup in Munich. They often skipped tournaments and Slams because of injuries, which only seemed to increase the suspense and interest, and, more recently controversy unfolded when Venus withdrew five minutes before a scheduled semifinal match against Serena at Indian Wells in March because of a knee injury.

The analysis of sister vs. sister is hardly complicated. The older sibling, usually higher ranked, almost always prevails. Most of the time, it happened with the three Maleeva sisters, the Minter sisters and the Jordan sisters. The younger sibling has won only four times in 27 matches, according to statistics compiled by the WTA.

Two of the five matches between Venus and Serena have come at Grand Slam events--the first and the most recent. One has been on grass (Wimbledon), one on clay (Italian Open), one on Rebound Ace (Australian Open), one indoors (Grand Slam Cup) and one outdoors (Miami).

They are so aware of each other’s presence that the first question Venus asked a WTA public relations representative after the 1998 French Open draw in Paris wasn’t about Martina Hingis or Monica Seles or Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario’s position.

She wanted to know whether Serena was in her half. That time, Serena was safely on the other side.

Life is more comfortable that way--not as many questions about the other sister and usually not as much controversy. If they are going to play, as far as the Williamses are concerned, it might as well be in the final.

They would have to do that to play each other at the French Open, which starts Monday. It is the first time they have both played at Roland Garros since 1999 and their father and coach Richard is with them in Paris for the first time.

Venus opens against former top-10 player Barbara Schett of Austria, and Serena will play Sarah Pitkowski of France in the first round.

It is only the fourth time they have played the same tournament in 2001. Hingis stopped a Williams-Williams semifinal at the Australian Open, and Jennifer Capriati held off an injured but dangerous Serena in the quarterfinals at Miami.

Before glancing at the previous matches between the sisters, a history lesson is revealing and instructive. Before the 1998 Australian Open, they had played once, in a junior tournament in Arcadia, and according to The Times, an emotional eight-year-old Serena got on her nine-year-old sister during the match, saying: “Let me win a game!”

Venus let her win four and afterward offered Serena the first-place trophy.

If it were only that easy now.

1998 Australian Open

* Second round: Venus defeated Serena, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

* The subplot: It was Serena’s Grand Slam debut, and though ranked 53rd, she beat then-family nemesis Irina Spirlea to reach the second round. Venus, then No. 16, was coming off her breakthrough at the 1997 U.S. Open, reaching the final in her debut.

* The quote(s): Venus and Serena had beads back in those days and bantered for the ESPN cameras, in particular the sunglasses-clad Serena.

Venus: “Hi, I’m Venus Williams.”

Serena: “Hi, I’m Serena Williams.”

Venus: “Now, I play her.”

Serena: “And she plays me.”

Serena: “I have to go practice now to kick some second-round butt.”

Venus: “Second-round what?”

* The turning point: Serena led, 4-3, in the first-set tiebreaker and lost the next four points to drop the set. It was a ragged contest--seven service breaks in the first nine games and they combined for 76 unforced errors.

1998 Italian Open

* Quarterfinals: Venus defeated Serena, 6-4, 6-2.

* The subplot: This was Serena’s first clay-court event. Through the years, clay has always been the toughest surface for the Williamses. Venus has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open twice, and Serena made the fourth round in 1998 and is still searching for her first clay-court title. Here, however, Serena beat four-time Italian Open champion Conchita Martinez, to reach the quarterfinals against Venus.

* The quote: “I think Serena knows what to do to beat me, but I’d have to make a lot of mistakes,” Venus said.

* The turning point: Venus broke Serena in the sixth game of the second set and Serena’s confidence waned. Three of the four victories by Venus against Serena have been in straight sets.

1999 Lipton

* Final: Venus defeated Serena, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

* The subplot: By now, Serena had emerged from the background, carrying a 16-match winning streak into the final. Along the way, she beat Steffi Graf in the Indian Wells final and took out Hingis and Monica Seles at Lipton. Venus was close to breaking into the top five, at No. 6, and Serena moved up to No. 11 after Miami.

* The quote: “I would never tell my daughters to tank a match,” Richard Williams said. “We teach our kids that you didn’t come here to start a match, you came here to win the match.”

* The turning point: Take your pick. The family faced questions about purposely extending the match three sets to fill national television time after Venus’ game collapsed at the end of the second set and Serena’s in the third. As in Australia, the unforced errors were plenty, hitting triple digits this time as they combined for 107.

1999 Grand Slam Cup

* Final: Serena defeated Venus, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

* The subplot: For the first time, people were starting to say Serena and Venus rather than the other way around. The little sister was coming first after her U.S. Open victory and extended her winning streak to 16 matches after the Grand Slam Cup. And the gap narrowed between the two in the rankings: Venus was No. 4, one spot ahead of Serena.

* The quote: “I’d never actually beaten Venus. I didn’t know how it feels,” Serena said after the final. “It’s kind of tough to take this win.”

* The turning point: Serena lost one of the first 13 points but this one may have been decided in New York. It would take Venus some healing time away from the tour to get over watching Serena win a Grand Slam singles title first.

2000 Wimbledon

* Semifinals: Venus defeated Serena, 6-2, 7-6 (3).

* The subplot: Experts and gamblers--not the same, of course--lined up behind Serena when she lost only 13 games in five matches. One of those matches included an 11-minute second set in the second round against the unfortunate Yvette Basting. Basting won only four points in that set. Venus, though, had herself and a new-found belief in her abilities after beating Hingis for the first time in a Grand Slam event.

* The quote: “She brought out her best game against me,” Serena said. “I don’t know, I guess I wasn’t ready. . . . I said I wasn’t prepared for Venus to play that hard. She usually doesn’t play that well.”

* The turning point: How about break points? Venus was four of five on break-point opportunities, whereas Serena was two of 11. The mental toughness of Venus came to the forefront in the second-set tiebreaker as she won the final six points after Serena led, 3-1.