Sports test sibling rivalry

Family ties are being severely tested in several sporting arenas this summer.

While the ever-entertaining Williams show has been keeping the fans happy at the Wimbledon championships, the Schumachers will soon be moving their act to Silverstone.

Not to be outdone, the Waugh twins have just declared war on England in the Ashes series.

Although Serena Williams made a hasty exit from this year's Wimbledon on Tuesday after a three-set loss to American compatriot Jennifer Capriati, sister Venus is continuing the family tradition of dominating the headlines by romping into the final for a second successive year.

At last year's Wimbledon, the Williams added their names to a select band of siblings who have won the glory in their sport.

Venus galloped her way through the women's draw to win the singles crown and then joined forces with Serena to lift the doubles title as well.

The victories at last fulfilled the prediction of their eccentric father and coach Richard, who had always been determined to turn Wimbledon into a "Williams family affair".

But the hype surrounding the sister act sometimes falls flat, especially when the two have to face each other across the net.

The pair usually avoid entering the same tour events to sidestep possible showdowns and none of their five meetings has so far lived up to expectations.

Although the only person to defeat a Williams at the All England Club 12 months ago was a Williams it was a sloppy affair. Elder sister Venus pulled rank on Serena to win a one-sided semifinal before defeating fellow American Lindsay Davenport in the final.

At least Serena looked genuinely happy when Venus won the championship -- far more so than Venus did when Serena became the first member of the family to win a Grand Slam title at the 1999 U.S. Open.

RIVALRY

World number two Venus, 21, underlined their rivalry by saying: "Serena and I will be fighting for the number one ranking some day.

"But when we play each other in singles, it's each woman for herself.

"I want to be able to play better than her. Doesn't matter if I'm playing Serena or Pete Sampras, I just want to win."

In March, there was yet another twist to their rivalry at Indian Wells when Venus, citing an injury, withdrew minutes before she was due to face the 19-year-old Serena in the semifinals.

The incident led to speculation that matches between the sisters were fixed by Richard -- an allegation denied by Venus and Serena as well as by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

Tennis's greatest showman Andre Agassi said at the Ericsson Open: "I can only imagine what it must be like for the Williams sisters to contest their sibling rivalry in front of everyone.

"It's one of the worst things that can possibly be said about an athlete, that you would either fix a match or fake an injury.

"Every time I watch them play there is always an element of sibling going on that I couldn't even bear to imagine for myself.

"None of it is an easy situation. But the family gets double the prize money, double the pain and double the pleasure."

But sibling rivalry in sport is not restricted to Venus and Serena.

SPOTLIGHT

Formula One driver Ralf Schumacher has long lived in the shadow of his more illustrious elder brother, triple world champion Michael, while twins Steve and Mark Waugh have had to share the spotlight as members of the Australian cricket team.

The Waugh twins have often been the bane of English cricket and the Ashes series, which started on Thursday, will no doubt bring to the fore the particular relationship they have.

Despite being born only four minutes apart, Steve and Mark have vastly different interests and prefer to keep their distance from each other.

They also have the ultimate brother-in-sport story. Steve was appointed to tell Mark during the 1990-91 Ashes series that he had at last been selected for Australia -- at the expense of Steve.

Unlike the Williams and Schumachers, the Waugh brothers do not have to compete against each other on a regular basis but there is the added pressure of Steve being the captain of the national team.

When Mark suffered a batting slump between 1999-2000, Steve was placed in the sensitive situation of having to cajole his brother but realised Mark had to be judged by the same standards as others.

"We get along well and we feel for each other," Steve said last year in his diary "Never Satisfied".

"There is no rivalry these days but there probably was growing up because as twins we were always going to be compared to each other."

At the European Grand Prix in Germany last month, the Schumachers almost came to blows in their private battle for supremacy after Michael forced Ralf within centimetres of the pit wall as he stormed to victory.

"I would do this to anyone. We drive very close to the edge

as you have to do," said Ferrari's Michael.

"Ralf doesn't give presents to me either because we work for different teams."

The heated exchange between the two was in stark contrast to the brothers-in-arms image splashed across the world following Ralf's superb drive for Williams to edge Michael into second place at the Canadian Grand Prix only three weeks ago.

Having shared the front row in their last three races, and with Michael out-manoeuvring Ralf to clinch the French Grand Prix last weekend, the spotlight will be firmly on the Schumachers when they once again challenge the family pecking order at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on July 15.