Venus is always the nicer one, Serena always the meaner.
Venus again played the role of the elder sister to perfection in the latest rejoinder in the Williams Sister Act. Serena scrapped hard for almost two hours at the packed KSLTA stadium to beat Venus 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (4) and set up a final against Switzerland's Patty Schnyder at the WTA Bangalore Open on Saturday night.
Though a watered down version of their previous clashes, the Williams sisters, playing against each other for the 15th time, breathed life into the lackluster event. The Bangloreans had given the tournament a cold shoulder through the week, but the weekend crowd came out in big numbers to witness one of the best rivalries in women's tennis.
Excitement scored over tennis etiquette, as the match grew in intensity as it progressed.
"There were a lot of spectators today, and so many young kids... it was really nice to see," said Serena. "It was a great atmosphere to play in and this would make me come back to India again and again."
Ever since their rise to the top of the rankings there has been a theory that the matches between Venus and Serena were pre-planned. Whether that held true or not, the Bangalore Open semi-final followed an almost perfect script, with all the ingredients of a good scrap thrown in.
After the match, Serena agreed that neither of them were in the best form of their life, but where the American sisters are concerned that had hardly ever been a concern.
Serena broke Venus in the fifth and ninth games to take the first set.
The second set saw the sisters struggle for rhythm. Anticipation had started giving into reality as the match was replete with rallies and studded with errors.
Venus broke Serena thrice as the younger Williams failed to get the first serves in and dished five double faults. A better serve and volleyer, Venus, had also started moving in more confidently, putting away a lot many balls than the previous set.
But it was the third set that brought out flashes of the Williams fight. Neither sisters were ready to give an inch, working hard for every point and the crowd was treated to some superb display of power and athleticism.
Despite being a break point down at 4-5, Venus battled back into the set. Looking a lot calmer than the fiery and flamboyant Serena, the reigning Wimbledon champion won two games in a row to turn the tables. At 30-40 in the 12th game, it was Serena who was staring at a match point against her.
The 26-year-old came up with three big serves to push it into a tie-break.
She fought back from a 0-2 deficit in the tie-break as well and held her nerve against a confident Venus to book a berth in the final. After the game, Serena thought it was "awesome" to enter the summit clash in a tournament which she had entered without form or fitness.
"It's going to be difficult to refocus for tomorrow, since I have so little time," said Serena of her match-up against Schnyder.
The fourth-seeded Swiss, who beat China's Zi Yan 6-3, 6-4 in the first semi-final of the day, had expressed her preference for playing Serena in the final, since she has won the last two matches against the American.
"Yeah, I thought she would like to play me than Venus," said Serena matter-of-factly. "But I'm excited for tomorrow's match."
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