SORRY SISTER!
Serena beats ‘best friend’ Venus to keep her Slam drive alive
THERE were no celebrations on Centre Court at the end of this bloodless encounter. There was just Serena and Venus softly hugging and whispering sisterly words.
These hard-hitting siblings, with a lifetime’s rapport, had too much mutual respect for anything else. It was a fourth-round Wimbledon tie on the grandest stage in tennis, but it was still governed by private, family history.
The dilemma facing those watching in the warm summer breeze was summed up by the wit in the crowd who shouted, ‘Come on, Williams.’
By a slender margin, Venus got the louder cheer when she was introduced. It was the traditional British regard for the underdog, in this case ranked 16th to her sister’s world No 1 status, and the greater decibels went Venus’s way as the match went Serena’s.
Victory in 67 minutes took Serena into a much noisier and potentially more volatile quarter- final today against the screaming Victoria Azarenka. The pair recently sparred at the French Open, which Williams won. The Belarusian waved her hand at Williams in a dispute over a line call, prompting the American to respond with a tart: ‘Don’t wave your hand at me.’
The winner of the Williams-Azarenka match is then expected to play the squealing Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals. Pass the ear plugs, Alice.
Serena made the perfect start yesterday, winning the first eight points long before every green seat had been filled. Venus fought back. She produced some forehand winners that took the breath away, but the sheer consistency of Serena’s play was comprehensively too much for the older sister’s fits-and-starts resistance.
The statistics are compelling. Serena hit 10 aces, had no double faults, produced 36 winners against 13 unforced errors. Venus had two aces, four double-faults, 15 winners and 12 unforced errors.
In this sort of brusque form, Serena looks on course to win her sixth Wimbledon title — one more than her sister — and complete the third leg of her quest for the calendar Grand Slam. Only Don Budge, Maureen Connolly, Rod Laver (twice), Margaret Court and Steffi Graf have done that. While Serena point-blank refuses to talk about the Grand Slam possibility, Venus was asked if her sister is the greatest ladies’ player of all time.
‘I don’t think she’s done, so we’ll see what more she does,’ came the reply from a woman who herself has won seven Grand Slam titles.
‘She wouldn’t call herself the greatest because she respects everyone else and their accomplishments. But the level she’s playing at is unprecedented. I can say that with confidence. So make what you will of that. Then when it’s a wrap, it will be easier to make labels and not offend anybody.’
Dropping just five points on serve in the second set was a mark of Serena’s dominance. And, in passing, what a testament Serena’s comfortable passage was to the performance of our own Heather Watson in taking her to the edge of the cliff last Friday night.
Venus and Serena were sorry to have met at the midway point of the tournament rather than the later stages, as was more regularly the case before an auto-immune condition swept Venus and her sore joints out of the highest levels of the game.
Whether due to the sisters’ love-in or not, Venus passed up the chance to challenge an ace that looked out in the penultimate game. Neither sister allowed herself more than the odd covert clenched fist of selfencouragement. In fact, there was only one challenge all match, when Serena’s inquisitive look at the umpire was wrongly interpreted, she said later, as a call for Hawk-Eye.
Both players were asked if they ever cheated when calling the lines as girls on the municipal courts in Compton, Los Angeles. Venus, now 35, said that as the older sister she always won so did not need to stoop to such skulduggery. Serena, 33, admitted she had.
How many more times we will be privileged to see these trailblazing girls from the ghetto play one another is not known.
Both pondered the prospect of the years running out, said they hoped they would meet many more times, but neither could make any assurances. For now, their head-to-head record stands at 15-11 in Serena’s favour. But for them the rivalry is of secondary importance.
‘She’s my sister today, she’s my sister next week, she’s my sister next year,’ said Serena. ‘That’s a lot more important than a match. She is my best friend in life.’
Meanwhile, Sharapova eased past Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas 6- 4, 6-4 but admitted she is wary of her big- serving quarter-final opponent, American Coco Vandeweghe. The world No 4 said: ‘It’s tricky playing against a really good server on grass because a few points here and there can ultimately make the difference.’