Write off the Williams sisters at your peril

Players Under the Microscope / Barry Millns / 04 September 2007 / Leave a Comment

Sky Sports' Barry Millns looks back at the careers of Venus and Serena so far and considers what they can still go on to achieve

It is 10 years since we first felt the full force of a Williams charge through a Grand Slam. Aged 17 at the time the beaded wonder that was Venus stormed to the final in New York on her US Open debut and with younger sister Serena joining in the fun in 1998 the world of women's tennis has spun on a different axis ever since.

Coached out of a Los Angeles ghetto by their father Richard, he had always instilled a huge sense of self-belief in his daughters, who were brought up as Jehovah's Witnesses, kept away from junior competition and then launched on an unsuspecting public with a bang. They brought power and attitude, taking no prisoners along the way in pursuit of all the major titles and the world No.1 ranking.

Serena, 15 months younger than Venus, was the first to win a grand slam, avenging her sister's loss to Martina Hingis two years earlier in the US Open final of 1999. World No.1 and winner of five grand slams and at the time, the 'Swiss Miss' never won another after that and has largely been overshadowed and overpowered by the sisters, with their big serves and booming ground strokes, ever since.

The following year Venus starred like never before, taking Wimbledon by storm and then the US Open, before winning the Olympic singles and doubles titles in Sydney, partnered in the latter, of course, by Serena. She repeated the Wimbledon / US Open 'double' the following year before her kid sister pulled off the 'Serena Slam', winning every major from the French Open of 2002 through to the Australian Open of 2003 with Venus runner-up to her in every one!

By then unfounded allegations that the matches between them were rigged had soured their reputations and put them at odds with certain sections of the tennis community. They still refuse to go back to Indian Wells six years after Serena was booed in the final because Venus had withdrawn 10 minutes before they were due to play each other in the semis citing knee tendonitis.

Richard Williams claimed the jeers directed at his family were racially motivated. Certainly there have been many times before and since when both sisters have fired themselves up with a sense of 'us against the rest'.

With Serena retaining her Wimbledon title in 2003 the Williams' dominance seemed set to continue. But then came the murder of their sister Yetunde, which combined with a spate of injuries, their parent's divorce and other interests including fashion, interior design and acting, resulted in both sisters being written off as 'has-beens'. How wrong we were!

Better than anyone else at bouncing straight back from any lay-off, Serena has won two more Australian Opens and Venus two more Wimbledons (one each this year) which means they now have a combined total of 14. Judging by the way they are performing here that number may well rise on Saturday evening and the only pity from their point of view is that they cannot meet in the final.

So far Serena, who had not played since Wimbledon because of a sprained thumb, has found the going a little harder although she did show her best form yet in beating Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli. Her quarter-final against top seed Justine Henin should be a cracker, Williams is currently available at 3.05 against the Belgian (1.48) even though she has won all their contests on hard courts, including an epic final from match points down this year in Miami.

To my mind, though, Venus, who has dismissed her first four opponents including Ana Ivanovic, has never looked fitter, faster or happier on a tennis court than she does now. To reach the semis she is backed at 1.51 against Jelena Jankovic (2.94) and right now I am backing her to go all the way to the title at odds of 4.5, second only in the market to Henin at 3.05.