Williams sisters take opposite routes to Wimbledon final rematch

Reporting from Wimbledon, England --

With stunning precision and the gutsy survival of imprecision, respectively, Venus and Serena Williams roared into another all-Williams Wimbledon final today in semifinals that awed the Centre Court crowd for contrasting reasons.

Where Serena Williams fought through the longest women's semifinal since pros began playing at Wimbledon in her 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6 marvel against Elena Dementieva, Venus Williams blasted through the most one-sided women's semifinal in 40 years in her 6-1, 6-0 demolition of No. 1 Dinara Safina.

"I have so much experience on this court," Venus said, a matter that will extend on Saturday when she plays her eighth Wimbledon final against her younger sister's fifth in their fourth final together and second in a row.

Her semifinal with Safina took 51 brisk minutes and featured such ferocious accuracy that Venus wound up with the dreamy ratio of 16 winners to one unforced error. She extended her consecutive-match win streak at Wimbledon to 20 and her consecutive-set streak to 34, just six behind the 40 Martina Navratilova strung together between the 1982 final and the 1985 final.

When Safina's last hopeless return plunked into the net, Venus pumped her left fist gently and trotted to the net, her understated demeanor reflecting the severity of the romp. She had spent most of her afternoon not playing but watching her sister's 2-hour, 49-minute tussle with the upgraded, 27-year-old Dementieva, the Beijing Olympic champion.

Said Venus to the BBC immediately thereafter, "To watch all that drama was so difficult."

`The Williams Way' still rules Wimbledon

By Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
Updated: 06/30/2009 11:47:41 PM PDT

WIMBLEDON, England -

Her 19th consecutive victory at the All England Club already wrapped up, Venus Williams grabbed a seat and watched younger sister Serena win easily to reach the semifinals, too.
Afterward, Venus and Mom, Oracene Price, strolled out of Centre Court arm-in-arm, chatting and laughing.

Sure is fun to be a Williams at Wimbledon.

Five-time champion Venus beat No.11-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 6-1, 6-2, before two-time champion Serena defeated No. 8 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 6-2, 6-3, a pair of overwhelming performances in 90-degree heat Tuesday that moved the siblings closer to another all-in-the-family final at Wimbledon.

"They are both playing super-well. They're playing `The Williams Way,"' said their father, Richard Williams, who kick-started their careers in Compton. "And when you're playing `The Williams Way,' it's very difficult for anyone to touch you."

Particularly at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, where a Williams has won seven of the past nine championships.

If No.3 Venus gets by No.1 Dinara Safina of Russia in Thursday's semifinals, and No.2 Serena eliminates No.4 Elena Dementieva of Russia, the siblings would meet Saturday in their second consecutive final at the All England Club and fourth overall.

It also would be the eighth all-Williams Grand Slam championship match; Serena leads, 5-2.

"I would love it to be a Williams final," Venus said, "and so would she."

They are competitors, of course, but also form a team in many ways: The sisters are sharing a house during this tournament, practice with each other and have reached the women's doubles quarterfinals together.

"We've got it all figured out at this point," Venus said.

She is trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles; Serena wants to add to the trophies she earned in 2002-03 by beating her sister in the finals.

At least one person has no doubt there will be a rematch Saturday.

"It will be. I'll go home because I can't watch," their father said. "I think they both definitely make it to the final."