Venus Versus Serena at the U.S. Open - What's at Stake?
Venus Williams meets sister, Serena Williams, in the quarterfinals of the 2008 U.S. Open. Many find it unfair that Serena and Venus are meeting so early in the tournament. However, that’s simply a function of the luck of the draw, as well as their rankings, which are based on how much, and how well, they’ve played in the past year. Regardless, this is a big match for both of them and the result could have an impact on their
careers far beyond the 2008 U.S. Open. For Serena, she must win this match to have a chance to win (only) her second Grand Slam title in the past nine straight Slams in which she has played (she won the Australian Open in 2007). For a player such as Serena, that’s a lot of consecutive Slams without a title. In addition, if Serena loses in the quarters to Venus, it will mark the fourth loss out of the past five matches against Venus and the third in a row in a Grand Slam (Serena lost to Venus at Wimbledon and in the round of 16 of the 2005 U.S. Open). A victory against Venus could lead Serena towards a possible U.S. Open title given how wide open the rest of the women’s draw is this year. In addition, Serena has a chance to recapture the Number One ranking that she hasn’t held for many years. For Venus, another win over Serena would present the possibility of winning a Grand Slam title that wasn’t at Wimbledon for the first time since she won the 2001 U.S. Open title. A U.S. Open title would also enable Venus to match Serena’s current pile of eight Grand Slam titles. However, it seems that the stakes are slightly higher for Serena since Venus has already had a great summer winning her fifth Wimbledon title and the Gold Medal in Doubles with Serena at the Beijing Olympics. Serena is almost 27 and Venus is 28, and although they hope to play until the 2012 Olympics on grass at Wimbledon, the reality is often that injuries and “life” have a way of intruding on (older) tennis pros’ plans. It should be a very intriguing match…
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