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Wimbledon: Every sister for herself

Thursday, July 3, 2008


(07-03) 19:56 PDT Wimbledon , England -- The Wimbledon women's finalists are best friends, bound for life in mutual affection. They are a doubles team, still alive in the tournament. They share the same flat near the Wimbledon village. Nothing in this world could get either to say one bad word about the other.

How far the game has come from Martina Navratilova versus Chris Evert.

To the betterment of the Williams family and the detriment of tennis, Venus and Serena Williams will return to Centre Court on Saturday, contesting the only matchup they dread. Back on the stage where they played the 2002 and '03 Wimbledon finals, Serena winning each time, they will put virtually every spectator in that strangest of moods: not knowing what to think.

Don't misunderstand: These are the two best players in the world of tennis right now, along with the two best fighters and the two best athletes. Their rise-to-the-occasion ability is one of the true marvels of sports. Remove just one element - the fact that they are sisters - and you've got titanic "big-babe tennis," as broadcaster Mary Carillo likes to call it, the very essence of the modern game.

Don't think for a minute that their matches are rigged, although that issue surfaced again Thursday. It's just that everyone around the All England Club, even the sisters' most vigorous supporters, felt a sense of letdown after Venus demolished Elena Dementieva 6-1, 7-6 (3), followed by Serena's more compelling 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Zheng Jie. They were fabulous, they were clutch, they were regal - but now what?

"Well, it's really just about wanting the best for your sister and wanting her to do well - until she plays you," Venus said. "Now it's every Williams for themself."

Richard Williams certainly doesn't know what to think. Barring a change of heart, the sisters' father was checking the airline schedules Thursday night. "If your children got into a fight with each other, could you stand to watch that?" he told reporters. "That's the way I feel. It's too emotional for me. I'll be on a plane, and I won't even watch it on TV when I get back home."

It's just as well that Richard Williams didn't see Dementieva's news conference. Perfectly awful on the court with her one-note attack, she then made the mistake of saying, "For sure, it's going to be a family decision" as to which sister wins the final. Because Dementieva was speaking in a second language, not everyone took that as an accusation. Remember, though, that in 2001, at the Indian Wells tournament, Dementieva was the first player to lodge such a complaint. Asked whom she thought would win as the sisters prepared to play that final, she replied, "I don't know what Richard thinks about it," she said. "I think Richard will decide who's going to win."

So here was Dementieva, the villain once again - and Venus was furious, not so much at Dementieva but that the issue had been raised at all.

"I find the question pretty offensive because I'm extremely professional in everything I do on and off the court," said Venus, speaking about a half-hour after Dementieva's interview. "I contribute my best in my sport, and I also have a ton of respect for myself and my family. So any mention of that is extremely disrespectful for who I am, what I stand for and my family. That's pretty much how I feel about the whole subject."

Once word got back to the locker room that Dementieva had created a firestorm, she issued a written apology, which read in part:

"English is not my first language, and I apologize for not speaking it better. I do not think for one second that matches between Serena and Venus are family decisions. What I meant was it is a unique situation for a family to be playing for a Grand Slam title. I cannot imagine what it must be like. I have a lot of respect for Serena and Venus. They are extremely professional in everything they do."

Count on this: Venus and Serena were raised too well to resort to such shenanigans. They can't help it if their matches lead straight to confusion. But when the elements of conflict and contrast take leave in a tennis match, there's nothing left but the low murmur of indifference.
Sister vs. sister

The Williams sisters have met six times in grand slam finals:

2003 Wimbledon: Serena

2003 Australian Open: Serena

2002 U.S. Open: Serena

2002 Wimbledon: Serena

2002 French Open: Serena

2001 U.S. Open: Venus
Women's final

When: 6 a.m. Saturday

TV: Channel: 3 Channel: 8 Channel: 11

E-mail Bruce Jenkins at bjenkins@sfchronicle.com.

SUPRMAN said:

.. and i will be right in front of the television watching it... i have seen these 2 play each other before and it's no joke ...and yup Serena won