Williams family show will test sibling rivalry
Serena and Venus Williams will clash at Wimbledon for the first time in six years on Monday, but the sisters’ ferocious appetite for success suggests it might be premature to bill it as an emotional final fling.
The sisters, who meet in the most anticipated fourth round tie of the tournament, have reigned supreme for much of the last two decades at Wimbledon, lifting the aptly named Venus Rosewater Dish five times each.
With 27 Grand Slam titles between them, the siblings are well established as two of the greatest female players in the tennis history.
Taking into account their incredible rise from the bulletscarred courts of Los Angeles — a fairytale story that led father Richard to dub his children “ghetto Cinderellas” — only increases the magnitude of the sisters’ accomplishments.
Seventeen years after their first tour-level meeting at the Australian Open, the sisters are still as relentlessly competitive as they were when Richard first put a racquet in their hands as means to escape crime-plagued Compton.
After a troubled period three years ago, when a serious foot injury and her lust for the celebrity lifestyle seemed to have taken its toll, Serena has been reinvigorated by French coach Patrick Mouratoglou — winning seven of the last 11 Grand Slams.
A sixth Wimbledon title this year would mean Serena holds all four major titles at the same time and would put her on the brink of becoming the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win a calendar Grand Slam.
If she achieves that milestone, the world No 1 would also be within two titles of Margaret Court’s all-time record 24 Grand Slams.
But, as Serena acknowledges, her glorious run should never overshadow Venus’s own epic achievements on and off the court.
While Serena took a while to fulfil her potential, Venus was the trailblazer as she amassed four Grand Slams by the end of 2001. But in 2011 Venus was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Disease, an immune system disease that often leaves her exhausted.
The illness threatened to end her career, but Venus has returned to the upper echelons — reaching her first Grand Slam quarters since 2010 in Australia this year.
The 26th meeting of the sisters’ careers is a chance to toast the extraordinary longevity.