Serena Williams And Sister, Venus, To Battle At Wimbledon, First Match-Up In Years
Serena Williams and her sister, Venus Williams, will go head-to-head in a fourth round matchup at Wimbledon on Monday. This will be the 26th time the Williams sisters will be meeting each other on the court. Serena has won most of the matches that they’ve played against each other (14-11), the Wall Street Journal reports.
A Venus-Serena Williams matchup means there’s a lot on the line for both sisters. Though Serena is the favorite to win, the two sisters may be more evenly matched than one would expect. Elder sister Venus Williams is going through a comeback of sorts at the ripe old age of 35. She’s moved from 103 to 16 in the global rankings over the last four years while battling the ravages of a debilitating autoimmune disease. Wimbledon was the site of Venus’ last title, so this may be her last chance to win one.
On the other hand Serena is undoubtedly going into the match with her legacy in mind. She’s won her last three straight major titles. If she wins her fourth at Wimbledon, then it will be the first time she’s achieved that feat since 2003. If Williams wins Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in September, she will be the first player to win a single-season Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.
“There’s so much on the line for both of them,” said Mary Joe Fernandez, the captain of the U.S. Fed Cup team.”It used to be, ‘We have 10 years left.’ They don’t have that now. Whoever wins is going to be like, ‘Whoa, I’m so sorry.'”
The sisters have never had an easy time playing against each other. But they both insist that whatever happens on the court doesn’t affect the Williams sisterly bond.
“She’s my sister today, she’s my sister next week, she’s my sister next year: I think that’s a little more important than a match,” said Serena Williams to BBC Sports. “It’s unfortunate that it’s so soon in the tournament, but we’re going to do the best that we can. We’ll leave everything out on the court. When it’s done we’ll go back to regular life.”
Venus maintains that going up against Serena is no easy feat.
“There’s no easy points against Serena. No matter how Serena’s playing, she knows how to win,” Venus said. “I’ll probably be cheering for her.”
Though Serena has been killing it on the court for the past couple of seasons, she says she expects her sister will get most of the support from Wimbledon fans.
“I expect more people to be rooting for Venus. I would be rooting for Venus. She’s been through so much,” Williams said. “She’s been so inspiring to me and to a lot of people with the same things that she goes through. She’s just an incredible individual.”
Serena Williams may be the one to beat, but her biggest challenge to earning her 21st Grand Slam title could be her older sister.
Photo courtesy ESPN
