The collective age of the two women’s finalists at this year’s Australian open is 71. They have 21 doubles titles together, including 14 Grand Slams and three Olympic gold medals. The first time they faced one another in a professional tennis match was at this very event 19 years ago.
When sisters Venus and Serena Williams were little, their father Richard Williams would announce to people, “They are going to be the best in the world.” Since then, the sisters have won a total of 29 Grand Slam singles titles between them. Their careers have undergone various shifts over the past two decades – from utter dominance over women’s tennis, to controversies, to debilitating and life threatening illness, to intense rivalries with other players. And yet, at the start of the 2017 tennis season, here we are, in a ninth Grand Slam final between the Williams sisters. Just like old times.
Serena’s appearance in the final is hardly surprising. Ranked No. 2 in the world and last year’s runner-up here, the 35-year-old is aiming to break Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles. She has played some talented players such as Belinda Bencic, Lucie Safarova, and in-form Johanna Konta in this tournament, but has yet to drop a set on her way to the final. She won her semi-final match against another veteran, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, easily to advance to her eighth Australian Open final. If she wins the title on Saturday she will reclaim the No. 1 ranking. Most fans may have expected her to be in this position before the event began. What few would have foreseen is who would be on the other side of the net.
The last time Venus played a Slam final was at Wimbledon in 2009, when she lost to her little sister. In the summer of 2011, she was diagnosed with Sjögrens syndrome, a chronic autoimmune disease that causes fatigue, muscle pain, and other symptoms. She ended that year ranked No. 102. While her seeding of 13 at the Australian Open this year demonstrates her slow but steady revival, she has not really been a serious contender for a major title in several years. When she beat her semi-final opponent, compatriot Coco Vandeweghe, after losing the first set on Thursday, to advance to her first final in Melbourne in 14 years, the giddy delight she exhibited on court could not have failed to move the most jaded fan.
Perhaps no one knows better what this means to Venus than Serena. Born just 15 months apart, the two shared a house in Florida for several years, and have remained close over the years despite an intense professional rivalry. They’ve come a long way from the cornrows and the colored beads. They have been through difficult times together, both on and off the court, experiencing their parents’ divorce, a beloved sister’s tragic death, and incidents of racism at tournaments. Venus has often said she takes her role as big sister very seriously. After their semi-final victories on Thursday, Serena said, “She’s basically my world and my life.”
Emotional challenge
Their close relationship has not always translated into scintillating tennis. In the early years of their rivalry, the level of their play often dropped sharply when they played each other. Only two of their eight Grand Slam finals have gone to three sets. Their matches have often been a bit awkward, with analysts like Chris Evert observing how difficult it is emotionally for two people who love each other to try to beat each other up on the tennis court.
That, however, is the task ahead of them both as they prepare to play one another for the 28th time. Serena has won 16 of those matches, including seven of the last eight. Serena also won their last match, in the quarter-finals of the 2015 US Open. She will be the overwhelming favorite going into this final, as she tries to make history and win back the top ranking in the process.
But if this Australian Open has proved anything it’s that nothing is impossible. Veterans have brushed aside challenges from younger players, experience has proved invaluable, and comebacks are the order of the day. In the last couple of years, there have been times when Serena was the heavy favorite but ended up losing to lower-ranked opponents. There’s a lot more at stake for her than for Venus who really has nothing to lose. If she feels a bit nervous playing her sister, going for the record, and Venus manages to get off to a good start, we might be in for a good contest.
Regardless of the outcome, though, as Serena put it after her semi-final, “It’s the one time that I really genuinely feel like no matter what happens, I can’t lose, she can’t lose.” Remarkably, Venus and Serena are the oldest and second-oldest players respectively to reach an Australian Open women’s final in the Open Era. Their longevity is refreshing and inspiring. On Saturday in Melbourne, as one of the greatest athletes of all time takes on the sentimental favorite, it’s not just a win-win situation for the Williams family but for women’s tennis.
Oindrila Mukherjee tweets here.
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