Sisters Reach Final With Relative Ease

WIMBLEDON, England -- They surrounded a broken Venus Williams in the locker room -- it was almost like an intervention during a rain delay Thursday -- offering support, advice and comfort.

If the two-time Wimbledon champion was having problems putting herself back together, then five strong women -- her mother and four sisters -- were going to step in.

Much about the Williams family story defies imagination and this was another chapter in the saga. For the one doing most of the comforting Thursday was the woman who will be Venus’ opponent in Saturday’s Wimbledon final -- her younger sister, Serena, the defending champion.

But that’s getting ahead. Although top-seeded Serena beat her recent nemesis, No. 3 Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, 6-3, 6-2, in the first semifinal, the day belonged to No. 4 Venus, who turned in a stirring performance against No. 2 Kim Clijsters of Belgium. Venus, suffering from a left-side abdominal strain, overcame the pain of the injury and the baseline power of Clijsters, winning, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Myths were shattered at the All England Club by the time Venus had finished under darkening skies. Now, “guts” and “Venus” were sharing the same sentence. Maybe the British will even use the word “brave,” the way they used to for Tim Henman when he reached the semifinals in the good old days.

You knew it was different when Venus’ face was etched in pain during the final game, as she made an acrobatic get, forced Clijsters to miss a volley or chased a lob that floated out. An exhausted Williams looked strained when Clijsters ripped a backhand cross-court winner to save the first match point, before losing on the second.

“As a rule, I never play with pain,” said Williams, who suffered the injury two months ago at a tournament in Warsaw. “I generally retire immediately. I’ve never been taught to play with pain. My parents always told us to put the racket in the bag, go off the court. I just felt this time -- I just wanted to win, basically.”

That may explain a few dramatic withdrawals, most controversially at Indian Wells a few minutes before a scheduled semifinal against Serena in 2001.

This time, she didn’t put the racket in the bag until the end. In fact, Venus almost couldn’t carry the bag after struggling to pull it over her shoulder when she left Centre Court with Clijsters.

“I definitely could feel the pain out there, especially in the first set,” Williams said. “I think, really, I panicked. I just didn’t know if I could play, if I was going to be able to hit, and I couldn’t calm myself down. I think that, more than anything, more than the injury, lost me the first set.”

She took an injury timeout after the third game of the first set but the pain limited her serving motion. Trainers worked on her during the rain delay after the 43-minute first set, icing and wrapping her stomach.

The Williams women worked on her mind.

“So finally the rain came and it took my mom and four sisters to get me to calm down,” Williams said. “... I really didn’t want to accept that I was probably going to have to play with pain.

“Serena talked to me in the locker room. The trainers helped me calm down some. So I was able to get my head straight at least.”

Serena had been through her own emotional day in defeating Henin-Hardenne, a rematch of their controversial French Open semifinal, won by Henin-Hardenne in three sets. Henin-Hardenne said she was nervous early and it showed as she dropped the first four games.

The loss at the French Open, where she was defending champion, might have pushed Serena to work harder and set a higher standard, now that Henin-Hardenne had closed the gap on clay.

“I was really definitely focused, and I realize there’s other players out there,” Serena said. “That I have to be on my toes and I can’t sit down and watch ‘Golden Girls’ all day. I have to watch some film instead sometimes.”

Oracene Price, the sisters’ mother, thought the result in Paris might help in the long run. She was similarly blunt with Venus during the rain delay.

“My mom said, ‘If you’re gonna play, play,’ ” Venus said. “ ‘If you’re not gonna play, pull out. If you’re gonna hurt it more, don’t play. You’ve been fighting with this for a long time.’ My other sisters were there, chiming in. I was trying to take it all in.”

Williams let it go in the final two sets, with some help from Clijsters, who twice went up by a service break in the second set. Williams broke back to pull to 3-3 and Clijsters won only one more game.

“Against almost every other player, except probably Serena, a lot of my shots would have been a winner,” Clijsters said.

The way Venus elevated her game showed in her service speed -- she hit her fastest serve, 118 mph, in the third set. Her second serve went from an average of 84 mph in the first to 90 by the third. She fought with such determination even Clijsters was able to put the match in perspective.

“The rallies, I think, were unbelievable,” Clijsters said. “And just, you know, being a part of it was great.”

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Women’s Final

The Wimbledon women’s singles final is Saturday at 6 a.m. on Channel 4. Serena and Venus Williams will meet in a Grand Slam final for the sixth time:

SERENA WILLIAMS (1) VS.

VENUS WILLIAMS (4)

S. Williams leads, 6-5

* 1998: Australian Open, hard court, outdoor, second round, Venus, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Rome, clay, outdoor, QF, Venus, 6-4, 6-2.

* 1999: Miami, hard court, outdoor, final, Venus, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Grand Slam Cup, hard court, indoor, final, Serena, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

* 2000: Wimbledon, grass, outdoor, semifinal, Venus, 6-2, 7-6 (3).

* 2001: U.S. Open, hard court, outdoor, final, Venus, 6-2, 6-4.

* 2002: Miami, hard court, outdoor, semifinal, Serena, 6-2, 6-2.

French Open, clay, outdoor, final, Serena, 7-5, 6-3.

Wimbledon, grass, outdoor, final, Serena, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

U.S. Open, hard court, outdoor, final, Serena, 6-4, 6-3.

* 2003: Australian Open, hard court, outdoor, final, Serena, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4.