Sisters’ Matchup Is Still Unpredictable

WIMBLEDON, England -- It wasn’t that long ago when Venus Williams’ playing her sister Serena Williams was a happening.

What a story line: Sisters from a poor area of Los Angeles -- coached by a dad who turns out to be, well, eccentric, but who certainly did an incredible job of making them into players -- rise quickly through the elitist ranks of professional tennis to become Nos. 1 and 2 in the world. Just as Dad said they would.

And, before we knew it, just about any major tennis tournament had a pair of women’s finalists with the same last name. Matter of fact, the Williams sisters have reached that plateau of superstardom where no last name is necessary. Like PeIe, or Shaq and Kobe, it’s now just Venus and Serena.

We have arrived there again. Saturday morning, breakfast at Wimbledon. Strawberries and cream, everything British and green. And the sister act.

Last year, Serena beat Venus for the title. The two years before that, Venus won the title. Matter of fact, since 2000, when eight spots have been available in the Wimbledon women’s singles final, six have been filled by a player named Williams. The exceptions? Venus beat Lindsay Davenport in 2000 and beat Justine Henin, now Henin-Hardenne, in 2001.

Thoughtful of them to spread it around.

We also have been through countless angles as the Williams Sisters became the Williams Empire.

At first, it was: Will they ever play each other?

Next, it was: Will Daddy be right again when he says that, as good as Venus is and as much as she is dominating, Serena will be better? Hard enough to believe anybody’s daddy even touching that subject for public consumption, much less calling the shot.

Soon, it was: When Venus and Serena play, do they really play? For a while, we were journalistically outraged over the possibility of a fix being in, but journalistic outrage tends to move its bile to other subjects quickly, and so it has.

Now, we are on to amazement and admiration that two players, sisters or not, can be this dominating in a sport that tends to eat its young every few years. The cynical side of us says that the Williams sisters’ domination is a telling comment on the current quality of the women’s tennis tour. The let’s-be-fair side says that these two would have been collecting the lion’s share of the trophies no matter what their era.

For today’s chapter of the sister show, we have a new story line. It is called Venus the warrior versus Serena the nurse.

The older sister, currently second fiddle in the family orchestra, will be playing hurt. She reinjured a stomach muscle in her semifinal Thursday against Kim Clijsters of Belgium and all sorts of interesting things happened.

First, she didn’t quit, as is her history. Instead, she battled through to a third set and won that, playing the whole way in obvious pain.

Then, afterward, she admitted that she had been so flustered by the injury and the possibility of not being able to continue in a Wimbledon semifinal that, during a rain delay, she needed to be calmed down more than she needed to take painkillers. From that came two amazing revelations.

In her news conference, she said that her parents had taught her not to play hurt, to pack up her bags and leave, which would explain, for the first time, that strange injury exit at Indian Wells two years ago, just minutes before she was to play Serena in a semifinal. Then she said that the people who calmed her down were her mother and sisters. One of those sisters, of course, was Serena, who had already advanced to the final.

Let’s give this some imaginary frame of reference. Say it is 1980, John McEnroe has just won the first Wimbledon semifinal and, as he watches the second, Bjorn Borg slips and hurts himself. During a rain delay, McEnroe visits Borg in the locker room, speaks quietly and soothingly to him about the history of Wimbledon and the need to fight on. Borg returns and fights back for victory. Of course, as this is going on, pigs are flying over Centre Court.

So, who knows what you will get in today’s final.

Best-case scenario is that two of the greatest players ever to toe a service line will put on a match worthy of their skills and of the event.

You have Venus with four Grand Slam singles titles and Serena with five; Venus with two titles here and Serena the defending champion; the sisters with six Grand Slam doubles titles together and each with two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, Serena with Max Mirnyi and Venus with Justin Gimelstob; Venus with tour winnings of $12,514,000 and Serena with $11,525,000.

And on and on.

Worst-case scenario is Venus hurts her stomach muscle again and walks off after a couple of games.

You never know, which is the one thing you can be sure of with the Williams sisters.

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Head-to-Head

History of matches between Serena and Venus Williams (Serena leads, 6-5):

1998

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

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

1999

Miami, hard court, F, Venus, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Munich, indoor carpet, F, Serena, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

2000

Wimbledon, grass, SF, Venus, 6-2, 7-6 (3).

2001

U.S. Open, hard court, F, Venus, 6-2, 6-4.

2002

Miami, hard court, SF, Serena, 6-2, 6-2.

French Open, clay, F, Serena, 7-5, 6-3.

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

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

2003

Australian Open, hard court, F, Serena, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4.