WIMBLEDON, England — A spot in her seventh Wimbledon final already secured, Venus Williams headed back to Centre Court to catch the end of the next match.
Scouting? Not really. More like rooting. And when Thursday’s second semifinal ended, Williams stood, smiling and applauding for the woman who won, the woman she will have to beat to earn a fifth championship at the All England Club: her younger sister, Serena.
The most unusual and, at times, uncomfortable rivalry in tennis is once more in the spotlight at the pinnacle of the sport: Venus will play Serena in their third all-in-the-family Wimbledon final Saturday.
It’s their seventh Grand Slam title match — Serena holds a 5-1 edge over her sister — but the first final at any tournament since 2003.
“Our main focus is obviously both of us getting to the final,” Venus said. “Then, from there, it’s every Williams for themself.”
There are, of course, differences in personality — Venus calls herself a nerd; Serena is more of an extrovert. And their games differ: Venus’ serve is faster, for example, and Serena’s return is considered better. Regardless, the siblings’ paths to what will be their 16th head-to-head matchup were remarkably similar.
Neither has lost a set in the tournament, and Venus won her semifinal 6-1, 7-6 (3) over fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia, before Serena hit 14 aces in a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over 133rd-ranked Zheng Jie of China. Coincidentally, each Williams won 80 of the 141 points in her match.
How unsurprising were Thursday’s results? Consider this: The sisters are now a combined 100-13 at Wimbledon for their careers; Dementieva and Zheng are a combined 29-13.
“We’ve both been working extremely hard,” said Serena, who holds an 8-7 career edge over Venus. “It’s just coming together.”
Both have been ranked No. 1, but a combination of injuries and inactivity contributed to Venus’ No. 7 ranking, and Serena’s No. 6.
On the men’s side, Rainer Schuettler was simply happy to have reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time. Worrying about how to recover from a two-day match in time to face Rafael Nadal could come later.
Schuettler finished off his quarterfinal win over Arnaud Clement 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (7), 8-6, 23 1/2 hours after the pair first walked onto Court 1.
At a glance
A look at Thursday’s play:
Women’s semifinals: No. 7 Venus Williams def. No. 5 Elena Dementieva; No. 6 Serena Williams def. Zheng Jie.
Men’s quarterfinals: Rainer Schuettler def. Arnaud Clement.
Today’s men’s semifinals: No. 1 Roger Federer vs. Marat Safin; No. 2 Rafael Nadal vs. Schuettler.
Stat of the day: 100-13 — The Williams’ sisters combined record at Wimbledon; Venus will be going for her fifth title at the All England Club in Saturday’s final, while her sister Serena will be going for her third.
Quote of the day: “It’s all in the genes.” — Venus Williams, on the success she and her sister Serena have had
On TV today: Noon, KUSA-9
The Associated Press
