serena williams to paly venus williams in quaterfinals at us open 2008

Williams sisters set up showdown
Serena is unhappy to battle it out with Venus in last eight, calling it the most difficult contest in the event

FEW people can appreciate the joy and dread stirred up by Venus and Serena Williams’ victories on Tuesday at the US Open better than Venus’s boyfriend, Hank Kuehne.

Kuehne, a golfer, grew up with an older brother, Trip, who was also accomplished in the sport. Thank goodness, Kuehne said, he never had to face his brother in match play at a US Amateur.

That would have been the nearest thing he could imagine to what was up next for Venus and Serena: a showdown on Wednesday in the quarter- finals of a tournament they both want desperately to win.

“ I think it’s a very difficult dynamic,” Hank Kuehne, a PGA touring pro, said after watching Venus’s match.

“ My brother and I are so ultracompetitive, we play cards with each other and it turns into a bloodbath.” He added: “ The thing is, Venus and Serena have done this their entire lives. It’s not fun for anyone involved, but they’re professionals.” The 28- year- old Venus secured her spot in the quarter- finals with a 6- 1, 6- 3 win against Agnieszka Radwanska at Arthur Ashe Stadium. After she was through, Serena, 26, took the same court against Severine Bremond and cruised to a 6- 2, 6- 2 win. In the first four rounds, neither sister has dropped a set, and Venus has lost 15 games, one more than Serena.

The Williams’ have played each other 16 times, including three times at the Open: in the final in 2001 and 2002 and in the Round of 16 in 2005.

Venus prevailed in 2001, Serena in 2002, and Venus won in 2005.

They met in the final at Wimbledon in July in a sublime piece of theatre that culminated with Venus winning her fifth Wimbledon title. Everybody wanted to see the sisters meet, but not like this.

Six years ago, when the Williams sisters squared off under the lights at Arthur Ashe, the WTA Tour was essentially the Williams Tennis Alliance. It was the fourth Grand Slam final in the previous five to feature them.

As had been the case at the French Open and Wimbledon earlier that year, Serena prevailed over her sister, securing her second Open title with a 6- 4, 6- 3 win. It seems unfathomable that neither sister has been in the final since.

Venus sat out the Open in 2003 and 2006 because of injuries, and Serena has not advanced past the quarter- finals in four subsequent appearances.

“ Obviously we were playing well then,” said Venus.

“ Things happen,” Venus said.

“ Life happened. You can’t always predict it. The best part is that we’re still here, going stronger than ever in my opinion.” And this time we are seeing a much- improved Venus. For years, everybody from Billie Jean King to the Williamses’s mother and coach, Oracene, has been goading Venus to go to the net more often. Venus has made a conscious effort to do so in her first four matches.

In 1998, when Kuehne won the United States Amateur, Trip was his caddie, not his competition.

He will watch Wednesday’s match, as he did the Wimbledon final. “ It’s a difficult situation,” he said. “ We’ll feel elated on one end, heartbroken on the other.” In a postmatch interview, Serena used stronger language.

She said the draw stunk, except the word she used was more profane. “ Even the semis would have been better than the quarter- finals,” she said.
“ I’ve got the toughest match coming up.”

So one thing is sure that either Serena williams or venus williams can reach into semifinals

Source - http://www.mailtoday.in.