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Slam finals: All Williams, all the time

It's Venus vs. Serena again in the U.S. Open championship, the sisters' fourth meeting in a Grand Slam title game.

By KEITH NIEBUHR, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 7, 2002

NEW YORK -- The Williams sisters' athleticism, shotmaking skill and power are unmatched. But what sometimes goes unappreciated is their flair for drama.

After Friday's turn of events, that might change.

In Venus' 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win against No. 10 Amelie Mauresmo and Serena's 6-3, 7-5 defeat of No. 4 Lindsay Davenport in the U.S. Open semifinals at Arthur Ashe Stadium, each found an extra burst of energy on key points to stun opponents and produce the fourth all-Williams Grand Slam final in 12 months.

"It's the most amazing thing in sports," Davenport said. "Like I said before, could you imagine Tiger Woods challenging a sibling to go head-to-head for all the majors? And in an individual sport, no less. They don't have teammates to help them along."

Each sister faced tense moments.

Venus, the No. 2 seed, easily won the first set, but was slowed by a blister on the palm of her right hand midway through the match. After losing the second set, she battled to take a 5-4 lead in the third. But serving for the win, Venus fell behind 0-40 and Mauresmo sensed she had an opening.

"I thought I had a pretty good chance to break her on this one," Mauresmo said. "I broke her a few times in that match, so I thought it was makeable."

Wrong.

Venus unleased a string of unreturnable serves to fight back. At deuce, she smashed a 122 mph ace. She then claimed the match, improving to 5-0 in the series, on the next point when Mauresmo's return of a second serve sailed long.

"I just didn't want to let the game go," Venus said. "Things hadn't gone as well as I thought they would go the whole match and I surely didn't want to have to get to 5-all."

Mauresmo hung tough, hitting almost as many winners (26-22) as Venus and making nine fewer errors (44-35). Both took 93 points, but Venus won more at opportune moments.

She converted 5 of 11 break chances to 4-for-13 for Mauresmo. Venus' biggest break of serve came in fifth game of the third set, which gave her a 3-2 lead. It also came one game after Mauresmo broke Venus' serve. At 30-40, Mauresmo double-faulted.

"I feel like I'm a little more experienced and probably able to stay a lot more calm in these situations," Venus said.

Top-ranked Serena was equally cool.

After falling behind 5-2 in the second set, the 2002 French Open and Wimbledon champion appeared to be headed for a battle. But in a matter of minutes, Serena regained control of the match. She won the final five games and nine of the last 10 points to put an end to Davenport's upset hopes and improve her series lead to 8-2.

"I figured, 'Well, it's now or never,' " Serena said. "I just decided to give it my best."

Forty-eight days after returning to the WTA Tour after January knee surgery and months of rehabilitation, Davenport, who won here in 1998, was out of synch early. In the first set, she had no winners to Serena's 16. But in the second, she broke Serena's serve and, for a few a games, was in control.

"I have come a long, long way," Davenport said. "I still think I can get better and that's why I'm going to keep playing."

Before Serena and Venus met in last year's Open final, siblings had not played for a Grand Slam championship since 1884.

Venus won that day 6-2, 6-4, but Serena defeated Venus this year in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon. Serena missed the Australian Open, the year's first Grand Slam, with an injured ankle.

The winner today will be No. 1 in the rankings.

"Serena is playing really well," Venus said. "To be honest, it's easy to play well after you've won two Grand Slam titles and your confidence is at an all-time high. I've been there and I've done that before. You feel pretty much like you can win anything."

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