Serena, Venus to meet in ninth all-Williams Grand Slam final
http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/...s-coco-vandeweghe-reach-australian-open-final
MELBOURNE, Australia -- For the ninth time in Grand Slam history, the monolithic monopoly that is the Williams sisters locked down the championship one round early.
By winning their semifinal matches on Thursday here at the Australian Open, Serena and Venus guaranteed that one of them will fly home with the sterling trophy. Since they share a house in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, it probably doesn't really matter who wins.
Another way to slice it: Serena (22 Grand Slam singles titles) and Venus (seven) have more than any other active women. This will be their 28th meeting.
The last all-Williams final came at Wimbledon in 2009, which also was Venus' last major final. Her only other Australian Open final came in 2003.
Venus, 36, was first into Saturday's final with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3 victory over fellow Californian Coco Vandeweghe -- the only semifinalist younger than 30.
Serena, 35, followed quickly, hammering the unseeded but inspirational Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-2, 6-3. It was over in only 50 minutes, rare for a major semifinal.
"A total inspiration," Serena said in her on-court interview of her sister. "My big sister, she's basically my world and my life. I was so happy for her, really.
"For us both to be in the final is the biggest dream come true for us."
The crowd at Rod Laver Stadium, while deeply appreciative of both efforts, understood which one was more significant. The astute patrons gave Venus a prolonged standing ovation as she ricocheted around the court like a sugared-up 6-year-old.
Venus is the oldest woman to reach an Australian Open final in the Open era and the second oldest to play a Grand Slam final, after 37-year-old Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994.
"Everybody has their moment in the sun; maybe mine has gone for a while. I've got nothing else to do," Venus said.
A victory here by Serena -- or Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, for that matter -- would not approach the magnitude of a Venus title. It's almost a footnote now, but six years ago, Venus was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, a debilitating autoimmune disease that curtailed her ability to practice and train.
On Thursday, Venus, the seven-time Grand Slam champion, was playing in her 21st major semifinal, while Vandeweghe was in her first. The oddsmakers were unimpressed and installed Vandeweghe as a significant favorite.
But serving like it was 1999, Venus survived a briefly close encounter because of one weapon. Her serve was virtually unassailable. She stroked 11 aces -- one more than Vandeweghe -- and saved 12 of 13 break points.
And when it was finally over, after she converted her third match point, Venus tossed her racket and, for a spell, seemed to lose her mind. She did a madcap 720-degree spin (repeated a little later), did a little dance and then was consumed by laughter as her accomplishment began to dawn on her.
"Oh, my gosh, it means so much, mostly because she played so well," Venus said in her on-court interview, at one point dissolving into a giddy unknown language.
"That moment was just joy," she said later. "It was a heartfelt match. If the match is 6-2, 6-2, you know, the moment is kind of clear that it's going to happen. But she played so well. There was never a moment where she wasn't just hitting the ball amazing and striking the ball with just such precision.
"It's always very satisfying to be able to get through in such a big match against an opponent who was just on fire."
The match required 2 hours, 26 minutes, making it the longest women's match of the second week here.
"I would give anything," Venus said, "to see [Serena] across the net from me on Saturday."
And that's just what happened.
The 34-year-old Lucic-Baroni, who went an incredible 17-plus years between major semifinals, was a longer shot than Venus. After beating No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round and No. 5 seed Karolina Pliskova in the quarters, she seemed spent. Wearing wraps on her left thigh and calf, Lucic-Baroni was often left flat-footed by Serena's superior groundstrokes.
Lucic-Baroni took the time to take a selfie before she walked off the court and was embraced by the crowd.
Meanwhile, Serena's final flourish was more sedate than Venus'. She waved gently to the crowd.
A win over Venus would give Serena 23 Grand Slam singles titles, pushing her one ahead of Steffi Graf and setting an Open-era record.
"She's my toughest opponent," Serena said. "No one's ever beaten me as much as Venus has."
True enough. Serena holds a 16-11 head-to-head edge going back to 1998. Their last meeting resulted in a three-set victory for Serena at the 2015 US Open.
"I just feel like no matter what happens, we've won," Serena said. "She's been through a lot. I've been through a lot. I look forward to it.
"A Williams is going to win this tournament."
---
Date: Saturday, January 28
Time: 8:30 a.m. GMT/3:30 a.m. ET
TV: Eurosport 1 (UK), ESPN (U.S.)
Live Stream: Eurosport Player (UK), Sky Go (UK) and WatchESPN (U.S.)
All is set for what will be an intriguing battle between the Williams sisters to decide the first major champion for 2017. Here is the all-important information you need to know entering Saturday night’s Australian Open women’s final.
[13] Venus Williams (USA) versus [2] Serena Williams (USA)
Saturday, January 28
Not before 7:30pm
Rod Laver Arena
Head-to-head
All matches: Serena 16-11
At Grand Slams: Serena 9-5
In Grand Slam finals: Serena 6-2
At the Australian Open: Tied, 1-all
In all finals: Serena 8-3
Last meeting: Serena won 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, quarter-finals, 2015 US Open
Last meeting at the Australian Open: 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4
Venus Williams’ road to the final
Round 1: defeated Kateryna Kozlova (UKR) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
Round 2: defeated [Q] Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 6-3, 6-2
Round 3: defeated Duan Yingying (CHN) 6-1, 6-0
Round 4: defeated [Q] Mona Barthel (GER) 6-3, 7-5
Quarter-finals: defeated [24] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
Semi-finals: defeated Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 6-3
Serena Williams’ road to the final
Round 1: defeated Belinda Bencic (SUI) 6-4, 6-3
Round 2: defeated Lucie Safarova (CZE) 6-3, 6-4
Round 3: defeated Nicole Gibbs (USA) 6-1, 6-3
Round 4: defeated [16] Barbora Strycova (CZE) 7-5, 6-4
Quarter-finals: defeated [9] Johanna Konta (GBR) 6-2, 6-3
Semi-finals: defeated Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) 6-2, 6-1
Stats that matter
* This will be Serena Williams’ eighth Australian Open final and 29th Grand Slam final, while for Venus Williams this will be her second Australian Open final and 15th Grand Slam final overall, but first since Wimbledon 2009.
* Williams has won six of her seven previous Australian Open finals, with her solitary loss coming last year when she lost to Angelique Kerber in three sets.
* This will be the ninth time the Williams sisters have met in a Grand Slam final, and the fifteenth in any Grand Slam match. Serena leads both categories 6-2 and 9-5 respectively.
* This will be their twelfth meeting in any final, but first since the 2009 WTA Tour Championships. Serena leads this category 8-3.
* This is the first Grand Slam final between the two sisters since Wimbledon in 2009 and first at the Australian Open since 2003. Moreover, this is also the first all-American Australian Open final since 2005.
* This will be just their third meeting at the Australian Open. They are tied 1-all; Venus winning a second round match in 1998 and Serena winning the final in 2003 to complete the “Serena Slam” at just 21 years of age.
* Venus Williams is the only player to beat Serena Williams more than once in a Grand Slam final. Her victories came at the 2001 US Open, and at Wimbledon in 2008, which stands as her most recent Grand Slam title; as such, she will be attempting to end a major drought of eight-and-a-half years.
* Despite her dominance at the Australian Open, Serena has never won the title here without dropping a set. The last woman to do this was Maria Sharapova in 2008; that year, she was taken to 7-5 just once, in the final against Ana Ivanovic.
* Should Serena prevail in straight sets, she will win her first Grand Slam tournament without losing a set for the first time since the 2014 US Open. Victory would also see her regain the world number one ranking from Angelique Kerber.
---ORIGINAL POST---
Serena is in the semifinals against a 34 year old who last played her back in 1999.
Venus is in the semifinals against another American currently ranked #35.
If (when) they both win on Thursday, they will meet in the finals of the Australian Open.
Would you rather see Venus get one last hurrah, or Serena finally break the record?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_sisters_rivalry
http://www.ausopen.com
---
http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/18547817/2017-australian-open-day-10-women-roundup
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Thursday is Australia Day, the celebration marking the date British sovereignty arrived here in 1788.
At the Australian Open it will be a star-spangled day for America, with three women playing in the semifinals.
No. 2-seeded Serena Williams will play unseeded (and unlikely) Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia, and No. 13 Venus Williams meets unseeded Coco Vandeweghe.
Serena hasn't played Lucic-Baroni this century but won both matches in the late 1990s. More recently, Venus defeated Vandeweghe in their only meeting last year in Rome.
Serena booked her spot with a powerful and convincing 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 9 seed Johanna Konta of Great Britain. It was over in 75 minutes, and it secured the 10th consecutive major semifinal appearance for Serena, a remarkable achievement of high-level consistency.
This is only the fourth time in Open-era history, dating back to 1968, that three semifinalists have been over 30 years old. Venus, 36, is trying to become the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam singles title. Serena, who is 35 and already holds that distinction, will try to beat the 34-year-old Lucic-Baroni.
Fourteen years ago to the day, Serena beat Venus in the final here to complete the Serena Slam. On Saturday, there's a decent chance they could renew that sibling rivalry in the final.
http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/...-semis-australia-win-anastasia-pavlyuchenkova
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Amid all of the back-to-the-future, glory-days-revisited hysteria down here, the greatest revelation has been Venus Ebony Starr Williams.
The last time she made the semifinals of the Australian Open was 2003 -- the same year Roger Federer won his first Grand Slam; the same year Australian wild card Destanee Aiava turned 3 years old.
On an exceedingly pleasant Tuesday at Melbourne Park, Williams defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 7-6 (3) -- and, 14 years later, soared back into the semifinals.
Her victory produced yet another slice of history:
Williams, at 36, is the oldest woman to reach the final four here in the Open era.
The return for Venus to the Australian Open semis will be in the form of an all-American showdown against Coco Vandeweghe.
Vandeweghe beat French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-0 to reach the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career.
http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/...s-coco-vandeweghe-reach-australian-open-final
MELBOURNE, Australia -- For the ninth time in Grand Slam history, the monolithic monopoly that is the Williams sisters locked down the championship one round early.
By winning their semifinal matches on Thursday here at the Australian Open, Serena and Venus guaranteed that one of them will fly home with the sterling trophy. Since they share a house in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, it probably doesn't really matter who wins.
Another way to slice it: Serena (22 Grand Slam singles titles) and Venus (seven) have more than any other active women. This will be their 28th meeting.
The last all-Williams final came at Wimbledon in 2009, which also was Venus' last major final. Her only other Australian Open final came in 2003.
Venus, 36, was first into Saturday's final with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3 victory over fellow Californian Coco Vandeweghe -- the only semifinalist younger than 30.
Serena, 35, followed quickly, hammering the unseeded but inspirational Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-2, 6-3. It was over in only 50 minutes, rare for a major semifinal.
"A total inspiration," Serena said in her on-court interview of her sister. "My big sister, she's basically my world and my life. I was so happy for her, really.
"For us both to be in the final is the biggest dream come true for us."
The crowd at Rod Laver Stadium, while deeply appreciative of both efforts, understood which one was more significant. The astute patrons gave Venus a prolonged standing ovation as she ricocheted around the court like a sugared-up 6-year-old.
Venus is the oldest woman to reach an Australian Open final in the Open era and the second oldest to play a Grand Slam final, after 37-year-old Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994.
"Everybody has their moment in the sun; maybe mine has gone for a while. I've got nothing else to do," Venus said.
A victory here by Serena -- or Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, for that matter -- would not approach the magnitude of a Venus title. It's almost a footnote now, but six years ago, Venus was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, a debilitating autoimmune disease that curtailed her ability to practice and train.
On Thursday, Venus, the seven-time Grand Slam champion, was playing in her 21st major semifinal, while Vandeweghe was in her first. The oddsmakers were unimpressed and installed Vandeweghe as a significant favorite.
But serving like it was 1999, Venus survived a briefly close encounter because of one weapon. Her serve was virtually unassailable. She stroked 11 aces -- one more than Vandeweghe -- and saved 12 of 13 break points.
And when it was finally over, after she converted her third match point, Venus tossed her racket and, for a spell, seemed to lose her mind. She did a madcap 720-degree spin (repeated a little later), did a little dance and then was consumed by laughter as her accomplishment began to dawn on her.
"Oh, my gosh, it means so much, mostly because she played so well," Venus said in her on-court interview, at one point dissolving into a giddy unknown language.
"That moment was just joy," she said later. "It was a heartfelt match. If the match is 6-2, 6-2, you know, the moment is kind of clear that it's going to happen. But she played so well. There was never a moment where she wasn't just hitting the ball amazing and striking the ball with just such precision.
"It's always very satisfying to be able to get through in such a big match against an opponent who was just on fire."
The match required 2 hours, 26 minutes, making it the longest women's match of the second week here.
"I would give anything," Venus said, "to see [Serena] across the net from me on Saturday."
And that's just what happened.
The 34-year-old Lucic-Baroni, who went an incredible 17-plus years between major semifinals, was a longer shot than Venus. After beating No. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round and No. 5 seed Karolina Pliskova in the quarters, she seemed spent. Wearing wraps on her left thigh and calf, Lucic-Baroni was often left flat-footed by Serena's superior groundstrokes.
Lucic-Baroni took the time to take a selfie before she walked off the court and was embraced by the crowd.
Meanwhile, Serena's final flourish was more sedate than Venus'. She waved gently to the crowd.
A win over Venus would give Serena 23 Grand Slam singles titles, pushing her one ahead of Steffi Graf and setting an Open-era record.
"She's my toughest opponent," Serena said. "No one's ever beaten me as much as Venus has."
True enough. Serena holds a 16-11 head-to-head edge going back to 1998. Their last meeting resulted in a three-set victory for Serena at the 2015 US Open.
"I just feel like no matter what happens, we've won," Serena said. "She's been through a lot. I've been through a lot. I look forward to it.
"A Williams is going to win this tournament."
---
Date: Saturday, January 28
Time: 8:30 a.m. GMT/3:30 a.m. ET
TV: Eurosport 1 (UK), ESPN (U.S.)
Live Stream: Eurosport Player (UK), Sky Go (UK) and WatchESPN (U.S.)
All is set for what will be an intriguing battle between the Williams sisters to decide the first major champion for 2017. Here is the all-important information you need to know entering Saturday night’s Australian Open women’s final.
[13] Venus Williams (USA) versus [2] Serena Williams (USA)
Saturday, January 28
Not before 7:30pm
Rod Laver Arena
Head-to-head
All matches: Serena 16-11
At Grand Slams: Serena 9-5
In Grand Slam finals: Serena 6-2
At the Australian Open: Tied, 1-all
In all finals: Serena 8-3
Last meeting: Serena won 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, quarter-finals, 2015 US Open
Last meeting at the Australian Open: 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4
Venus Williams’ road to the final
Round 1: defeated Kateryna Kozlova (UKR) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
Round 2: defeated [Q] Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 6-3, 6-2
Round 3: defeated Duan Yingying (CHN) 6-1, 6-0
Round 4: defeated [Q] Mona Barthel (GER) 6-3, 7-5
Quarter-finals: defeated [24] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
Semi-finals: defeated Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 6-3
Serena Williams’ road to the final
Round 1: defeated Belinda Bencic (SUI) 6-4, 6-3
Round 2: defeated Lucie Safarova (CZE) 6-3, 6-4
Round 3: defeated Nicole Gibbs (USA) 6-1, 6-3
Round 4: defeated [16] Barbora Strycova (CZE) 7-5, 6-4
Quarter-finals: defeated [9] Johanna Konta (GBR) 6-2, 6-3
Semi-finals: defeated Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) 6-2, 6-1
Stats that matter
* This will be Serena Williams’ eighth Australian Open final and 29th Grand Slam final, while for Venus Williams this will be her second Australian Open final and 15th Grand Slam final overall, but first since Wimbledon 2009.
* Williams has won six of her seven previous Australian Open finals, with her solitary loss coming last year when she lost to Angelique Kerber in three sets.
* This will be the ninth time the Williams sisters have met in a Grand Slam final, and the fifteenth in any Grand Slam match. Serena leads both categories 6-2 and 9-5 respectively.
* This will be their twelfth meeting in any final, but first since the 2009 WTA Tour Championships. Serena leads this category 8-3.
* This is the first Grand Slam final between the two sisters since Wimbledon in 2009 and first at the Australian Open since 2003. Moreover, this is also the first all-American Australian Open final since 2005.
* This will be just their third meeting at the Australian Open. They are tied 1-all; Venus winning a second round match in 1998 and Serena winning the final in 2003 to complete the “Serena Slam” at just 21 years of age.
* Venus Williams is the only player to beat Serena Williams more than once in a Grand Slam final. Her victories came at the 2001 US Open, and at Wimbledon in 2008, which stands as her most recent Grand Slam title; as such, she will be attempting to end a major drought of eight-and-a-half years.
* Despite her dominance at the Australian Open, Serena has never won the title here without dropping a set. The last woman to do this was Maria Sharapova in 2008; that year, she was taken to 7-5 just once, in the final against Ana Ivanovic.
* Should Serena prevail in straight sets, she will win her first Grand Slam tournament without losing a set for the first time since the 2014 US Open. Victory would also see her regain the world number one ranking from Angelique Kerber.
---ORIGINAL POST---
Serena is in the semifinals against a 34 year old who last played her back in 1999.
Venus is in the semifinals against another American currently ranked #35.
If (when) they both win on Thursday, they will meet in the finals of the Australian Open.
Would you rather see Venus get one last hurrah, or Serena finally break the record?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_sisters_rivalry
http://www.ausopen.com
---
http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/18547817/2017-australian-open-day-10-women-roundup
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Thursday is Australia Day, the celebration marking the date British sovereignty arrived here in 1788.
At the Australian Open it will be a star-spangled day for America, with three women playing in the semifinals.
No. 2-seeded Serena Williams will play unseeded (and unlikely) Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia, and No. 13 Venus Williams meets unseeded Coco Vandeweghe.
Serena hasn't played Lucic-Baroni this century but won both matches in the late 1990s. More recently, Venus defeated Vandeweghe in their only meeting last year in Rome.
Serena booked her spot with a powerful and convincing 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 9 seed Johanna Konta of Great Britain. It was over in 75 minutes, and it secured the 10th consecutive major semifinal appearance for Serena, a remarkable achievement of high-level consistency.
This is only the fourth time in Open-era history, dating back to 1968, that three semifinalists have been over 30 years old. Venus, 36, is trying to become the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam singles title. Serena, who is 35 and already holds that distinction, will try to beat the 34-year-old Lucic-Baroni.
Fourteen years ago to the day, Serena beat Venus in the final here to complete the Serena Slam. On Saturday, there's a decent chance they could renew that sibling rivalry in the final.
http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/...-semis-australia-win-anastasia-pavlyuchenkova
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Amid all of the back-to-the-future, glory-days-revisited hysteria down here, the greatest revelation has been Venus Ebony Starr Williams.
The last time she made the semifinals of the Australian Open was 2003 -- the same year Roger Federer won his first Grand Slam; the same year Australian wild card Destanee Aiava turned 3 years old.
On an exceedingly pleasant Tuesday at Melbourne Park, Williams defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 7-6 (3) -- and, 14 years later, soared back into the semifinals.
Her victory produced yet another slice of history:
Williams, at 36, is the oldest woman to reach the final four here in the Open era.
The return for Venus to the Australian Open semis will be in the form of an all-American showdown against Coco Vandeweghe.
Vandeweghe beat French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-0 to reach the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career.
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