Sisters will be at war, says coach

SERENA Williams’s coach pledged that there would be no cosy family arrangements when the two sisters meet in this morning’s Australian Open final.

‘They will go on court and it will be a war,’ said Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglou, ahead of what is the oldest women’s final in the modern era.

‘It is like two very competitive sisters who play at Monopoly when they are 12 and when one of them loses, she has a mental breakdown and wants to kill her sister. It is the same now, even though they adore each other.

‘She doesn’t even think it’s her sister. They are so close, but they are so competitive, both of them. Of course they don’t like to play each other because they don’t want to hurt their sister, but when they step on a tennis court, they are very professional and very competitive, so it is about winning.

‘Of course Serena would prefer to lose to Venus than anybody else on the planet, but she would hate to lose to Venus and I think Venus is the same.’

Few neutrals at Melbourne Park give Venus (far right) a significant chance of the most unlikely Grand Slam triumph.

Serena is attempting to overtake Steffi Graf ’ s total of 22 major titles and re- establish herself as the official world No 1.

But wi t h world No 2 playing No 17 in what is their first Grand Slam final against each other since Wimbledon 2009 — when Serena won in straight sets — one sibling is massively favoured over the other.

‘They have both peaked at this tournament. I still think Serena at her best will beat Venus at her best,’ American legend Chris Evert told ESPN.

‘But I have not seen Venus this sharp and this confident for a long time. The good thing about Venus is that she has played herself into the tournament nicely.

‘She is moving like a 20-year-old and getting into the corners. We often say before a Grand Slam final with Serena that she has a lot more experience. We can’t say that this time.’

Handing over the trophy is 1980 and 1987 Australian Open champion Hana Mandlikova, who became so enamoured with the country she took citizenship.

She is expecting that it will be Serena coming up to the champion’s rostrum.

‘I think Serena’s going to win. I think she’s stronger. She has a better serve than Venus, whose own serve can still kind of go away sometimes,’ said Mandlikova, now, 54, and the winner of four Grand Slam titles. ‘You never know. Of course, Venus can beat her. They’re both unbelievable players. It’s amazing at 35 and 36 they’re in the final of a Grand Slam. I don’t know how that is possible because I stopped when I was 29. I’d had enough. But they still have the passion. They still love to compete. They love the sport and it’s great for women’s tennis.’