Brace yourself for another Williams’ showdown

Brace yourself for another Williams’ showdown  

In 1998 Australian Open, 17 year old, Venus Williams, ranked 16th in the world, beat 53rd ranked Serena to win in the second round. Now, 20 years later sisters Venus and Serena Williams are set to face each other for a place in the US Open last 16. The siblings have gathered a combined 30 Grand Slam singles titles since their clash in the Australian Open in 1998. Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam title winner, and Serena Williams, twenty-three-time Grand Slam title winner, both of them have been coached from an early age by their parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price.

Since their introduction, both the sisters have dominated the World of Tennis. Not only in doubles but as well as singles. Younger of the two, Serena Williams has been ranked world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association on eight separate occasions. Serena also holds the most Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles combined among active players. Her 39 major titles puts her joint-third on the all-time list and second in the Open Era: 23 in singles, 14 in women's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. 

On the other hand, current World number 16, Venus Williams is regarded as one of the all-time greats of women's tennis. Venus has been ranked world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association on three occasions. She also first reached the No. 1 ranking on February 25, 2002, the first African American woman to do so in the Open Era. 

In both the sibling’s success, their father, Richard Williams has played a major role, be it on the field or off the field. Growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the 1940s Richard Williams was no stranger to racism. "That was life. I was close to being killed so many times. A hell of a lot of times", Richard told in an interview. When he became a father, Williams wanted his kids to be ready to overcome adversity, racial or otherwise.

Starting their careers in 1990’s both the sisters were no stranger to racism, with Serena writing in her autobiography that "all I could see was a sea of rich people -- mostly older, mostly white -- standing and booing lustily, like some kind of genteel lynch mob."
 

 

Regarded as the best Tennis player ever, Roger Federer has 20 Grand Slam titles, on the other hand Serena Williams has 23 Grand Slam titles. Can there really be any doubt at this point that Serena Williams best American tennis player of any gender? The best female tennis player of all time? And, yes, the best tennis player of all time, male or female?

Since, the time when Serena Williams started dominating the world of Tennis, one of the only player that has kept her on the toes has been her elder sister, Venus Williams. Question arrives, how many grand slams Venus could have won if Serena wouldn’t have stepped on the tennis court?

The last time they played was not in a Grand Slam event but in the third round at Indian Wells this past March, when Serena was coming back after giving birth six months earlier and Venus won in two sets.

Serena was pregnant the last time they faced each other in a Grand Slam tournament, the 2017 Australian Open final and Venus remembers it well.

 “The last time we played the Australian it was two against one,” she said with a smile, noting that she was one of the few people at the time to know Serena was pregnant.

“At least this time it’s going to (be) fair.”

How much fun is this? If only it could go on forever.

Venus is 38; Serena turns 37 Sept. 26. In tennis years, that’s pretty old. They’ve both dealt with injuries and illness. They also lead full lives with loads of attractive opportunities off the court, so at this stage of their careers, every time they meet, you can’t help but wonder if it’s the last time.

The battle of the sisters starts in the night session, from 04:30 am IST, in Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows on Friday.

from SportsFlashes.com https://ift.tt/2MGsT5G