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Sister showdown

The Williamses, Venus and Serena, beat their semifinal opponents in straight sets to set up a family affair.

By SHARON GINN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 8, 2001

[AP photo] Serena Williams celebrates her win over Martina Hingis.

NEW YORK -- In the Williams family, it's all about keeping up appearances.

When you're on the cover of Time and you're good buddies with pop singer Brandy and Bruce Willis comes to see you play, there are certain obligations to be met. Being ranked in the top 10 in the world hardly is good enough.

"I'm pretty low ranked," Serena Williams said. "Someone with my name, to be No. 10 is pretty absurd."

By tonight, all will be forgiven. For the Williams sisters meet in the final of the U.S. Open, ushering in a new era for women's tennis under the bright lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium and the calculating stares of network executives wondering if airing a women's match on prime time is a good idea.

CBS couldn't have asked for a bigger buildup. Facing off at 8 p.m. will be Serena, the 1999 Open champion and a 6-3, 6-2 winner Friday over the world's just-barely-No. 1 player, Martina Hingis; and Venus, the defending champion who outran second-seeded Jennifer Capriati 6-4, 6-2.

"When I first heard about the prime-time final, I was hoping that I'd be there," said Venus, seeking her fourth Grand Slam trophy. "I was going to make it my personal goal, my personal dream to be in the final. And it's happened.

"What do you know, there's Serena too."

Now if they can just make it a match.

If history is any indication, the final is unlikely to live up to the hype. Venus leads the series 4-1 but all five meetings have been poorly played affairs.

They last played in the 2000 Wimbledon semifinals, with Venus winning 6-2, 7-6 (6-3) on her way to the title. They were scheduled to meet in the semifinals at Indian Wells in February, but Venus pulled out with tendinitis in her knee, prompting boos from the crowd and renewed suspicion that the results of their matches are predetermined.

"Both Serena and Venus tend to play unbelievable tennis until they hit each other, and then everything they had to do to get to that round goes away," CBS analyst Mary Carillo said. "Neither one of them ever plays well at the same time. That's why people are so cynical and skeptical.

"I hate to think there's any kind of fix in, and I can't imagine either one of them at this stage of the game putting up with it."

Both insist they wouldn't. "I take pride in my sport and my performance," Venus said. "I'm just appalled that anyone would hint something like that. But I don't think that has ever been the case and that it ever will be."

Family pride was in evidence Friday. First Serena did her best to make the WTA Tour rankings look appalling, not just hers but that of her opponent. She broke Hingis' serve three times in a 25-minute first set, then took another 26 minutes to finish her off.

Serena's service percentage in the second set was 100 percent, meaning she never had to hit a second serve. She made 18 unforced errors to Hingis' eight, but had 40 winners to Hingis' 5. Serena closed the door in the final game with two straight aces that whizzed right past Hingis' shoulders, then a final service winner.

"She played smart," Hingis said. "Waited for her chances. Hit winners. Yeah, I was too defensive."

Hingis hasn't won a Grand Slam title since the Australian Open in 1999, but will remain No. 1 because Capriati also lost. Though Capriati had much more fire than Hingis, she too could not match the power and stamina of a Williams.

In the first 25 minutes, Capriati looked ready to reach her third Grand Slam final of the year. She roared out, holding serve, then breaking Venus with a backhand down the line. She took a 4-1 lead, then ran out of steam as a steady wind whipped around the court.

"I just was pushing so hard just to come out and get a lead," Capriati said. "I guess I didn't realize how much energy I was actually using in that wind also. I had nothing in reserve."

Capriati lost the next seven games and couldn't recover. Venus kept blasting shots down the line, and while Capriati gamely chased them down, her returns usually found the net.

Venus actually had more unforced errors than Capriati 46-34. That's a concern for tonight's final, Venus said, because "when you put two powerful players against one another ... the unforced error count can become high."

Whether the match gets ugly -- again -- both players say they badly want the victory.

"I'm focused," Serena said. "I'm not even that excited anymore. ... I really, really want this tournament. I'm basically ready to do anything to get it. ... And Venus, she's really focused also."

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