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Sister act Life is grand for Venus and Serena
By Saxon Baines, CNNSI.com FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. -- There's a serious buzz about the Williams sisters. In the past year, with their sassy personalities and spellbinding athleticism, the Willams duo has become the hottest stock in tennis. "Well I'm really much more recognizable," laughs Serena who is the fifth seed at the U.S. Open. "I can't go anywhere anymore, so I guess I'm hot on the market." They both are. "Stock's up," said the third-seeded Venus last month. "High tide. Trying to keep it that way." A year ago, 17-year-old Serena captured the family's first Grand Slam singles title when she was coronated as the "Queen of Queens" at the '99 Open. Spurred on, perhaps, by her younger sisters' victory, 20-year-old Venus added another trophy for the mantelpiece, when she conquered Wimbledon in July. That was the start of a household winning streak. Coming into Flushing Meadows, the Williams sisters combined to win five of the last six WTA singles events. "Well, I guess we've won two out of the last four Grand Slam singles in the last year," said Venus, "so that's pretty good. We want to take this one too. Either one of us. That would be nice." Serena agrees. "It's our ambition just to take over tennis and we're trying," she said. "We're doing a decent job of it now and hopefully we can keep it up." Second seed Lindsay Davenport says Venus and Serena didn't play many junior tournaments and that in turn has posed a problem. "They're inconsistent and they are learning to deal with that," said Davenport. "So the last few years I've probably been more consistent, but they are definitely catching up." Monica Seles, the No. 6 seed at the Open sees the Williams sisters work as hard workers and added they are lucky to have each other. "They have the best practice partners in the world," said Seles. "They have company too. They have a huge advantage. They seem to have a great sister relationship, which I think is really important. Same with their parents." Together, they may be the toughest one-two punch in the game. Including singles, doubles and mixed doubles, this sister act has amassed a total of nine Grand Slams in just three years on the tour. At Wimbledon last month Venus and Serena teamed up to become the first sisters in the tournament's history to capture a doubles championship. "Obviously it's hard to play one of us," Serena says. "And if you're playing both of us, it's next to impossible." Other players say the meteoric rise of the Williams is nothing short of extraordinary. From girlish style, has evolved mature substance. No longer just flashing beads, they're learning to harness their overwhelming natural power and learning to cope with the physical and emotional grind of the tour. Early this year, Venus took off six months with tendinitis in both wrists and Serena missed two months with a bad knee. And in a move to further balance their lives, this fall, they plan to study fashion design. "I'm going back to school in October," Venus said. "After this October, I'll be halfway finished. So it's going to be some long nights, but I'll get through it. It's only 11 weeks." Confidence is not in short supply thanks to a family connection. "I think it's because of my dad," said Serena. "He gave me a lot of confidence and he just always told us to believe in ourselves. And we've heard it so much our whole lives, we can't help but believe in us. And were really confident and we just like the feeling it gives us." It's no secret that Richard Williams predicted his daughters would one day be number one and number two in the world. They're best friends,. they're doubles partners and they always practice together. And while each openly supports the other, there's no question both want that top spot. "Obviously I would love to be number one," Serena said. "It's definitely a goal of mine, especially since I'm a competitor on the tour," added Venus. "There's no way that I'm going to say, 'I'm happy at number three, I like it here.' Definitely I'm trying to move forward." If both move forward in this tournament, with Venus and Serena on opposite sides of the draw, this compelling sibling rivalry could play out on center court in the Finals.
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