Serena Williams: I’ll still feel like a winner even if Venus beats me in the Australian Open final

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Paul Newman27 January 2017

Given that they have played each other 27 times over the last 20 years we might have thought there was nothing more to learn about the on-court relationship between Venus and Serena Williams but tomorrow’s Australian Open final might just provide one more twist in their extraordinary tale.

There should be only one winner given that 35-year-old Serena has won six of their eight encounters in Grand Slam finals and has played in 14 Slam finals in the eight years since 36-year-old Venus last appeared in one but their matches have never been easy to predict.

In the early days their meetings could be perfunctory affairs as both women froze, apparently uncomfortable at conducting family business in the glare of international competition.

More recently they have played some thrilling matches. Their last meeting was a toe-to-toe quarter-final at the US Open 16 months ago which Serena took in three sets. She believes the pressures which might have affected some of their past matches have been lifted.

“Now it definitely feels like it’s just tennis,” she said. “We both want to do our best out there.”

When the sisters met here in 2003 in their only previous Australian Open final Serena needed victory (which she achieved) to complete her “Serena Slam” — the feat of holding all four Slam titles at the same time.

This time she needs to win to take sole hold of the Open era record for Slam singles titles which she shares with Steffi Graf and to go one behind Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 titles.

Winning her seventh Australian Open would also see her reclaim the world No1 ranking from Angelique Kerber.

Serena, nevertheless, has vowed not to think about chasing history and insists that she has put behind her the stresses that were evident last year as she thought too much about the record books.

Australian Open Tennis 2017 - In pictures

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Given Venus’ remarkable comeback, however, this is a confrontation quite unlike any of their past meetings. Six years ago Venus’ time at the top looked over when she was diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, an incurable auto-immune disease that causes fatigue.

But the five-times Wimbledon champion fought her way back into the top 10 and now, remarkably, is back in her first Grand Slam final since losing to her sister at the All England Club in 2009.

Serena appears to feel the enormity of the situation more than her sister. “I felt like it was in my hands to force this Williams final,” she said of her semi-final victory. “I was feeling the pressure.”

She has watched Venus’ suffering at close hand and her joy at seeing her reach her 15th Grand Slam final has been evident. She also admitted to feeling “uncomfortable” at the prospect of facing Venus in the final, though she added: “After everything that Venus has been through, I just can’t help but feel like it’s a win-win situation for me.

“It’s the one time that I really feel like, no matter what happens, I can’t lose, she can’t lose.”

Venus, in contrast, appears to be thinking about the final as just another match and said feelings of revenge — for her defeat by her sister here 14 years ago — were “words I never use” but when asked if she really wanted to win this time she replied: “Oh God, yeah.”

While it is clear that, whoever wins, the beaten sister will share the other’s joy, you sense Serena might derive more pleasure from Venus winning her eighth Grand Slam title than Venus would from seeing Serena win her 23rd.

Whatever the outcome, Serena insisted: “If anything, this will bring us closer together, knowing I want to see her do the best that she can and she wants to see me do the best that I can.

“I couldn’t write a better ending. This is a great opportunity for us to start our new beginning.”

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