Another all-Williams final
in the offing
Steve Keating
Venus Williams tamed Monica Seles 7-5, 6-4 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the WTA Tour Championships and keep the $3 million year-end extravaganza on course for another all-Williams final.
For many, an all-Williams final would provide a familiar and fitting conclusion to the women's season. The siblings have clashed to decide three of the year's four grand slams, Serena getting the better of her big sister on each occasion lifting the Wimbledon, French and U.S. Opens titles.
Venus will now take on fifth seed Kim Clijsters, a player who has given her problems this season, for a place in Monday's final. The Belgian advanced with a 6-2, 6-1 win over compatriot Justine Henin earlier in the day.
World number one Serena, who can become the first woman to win $4 million in a season with a successful defence of her Championship crown, will try to keep pace with her sister when she takes on Yugoslavia's Jelena Dokic in quarter-final action on Saturday.
The victory was Venus's ninth in 10 meetings with Seles, her favourite player growing up. Three of those wins have been this year.
"She's my favourite player, of course when we play now I'm rooting for me," laughed Venus. "I started grunting because of Monica.
"I never grunted before I saw her and now I can't stop.
"She's definitely not almost finished. Tonight she showed everyone she's definitely a force to be reckoned with and extremely serious about her game."
With most matches having been played in front of a few hundred spectators sprinkled across the Stables Center, the cavernous arena finally jumped to life as Venus and Seles took court in front of the largest crowd of the week.
EARLY BREAK
Playing in her first event in over a month, Venus struggled to find her range early in the match spraying her powerful groundstrokes long and wide.
Seizing her opportunity, Seles, who saved seven match points in a first-round comeback win over Lindsay Davenport, took the initiative securing the early break in both sets.
But each time, Venus, her thundering serve now finding the mark, would answer back pounding 11 aces past her sixth seeded opponent.
"She comes up with the goods and puts the pressure on you with her serve and her movement," said Seles. "She's a tremendous athlete, you're ready for that.
"It's just that when you play a person who serves so well, they can go boom and I have to work so hard on my serve."
With the majority of the crowd in her corner, Seles surged to a 4-1 lead in the opening set but eventually wilted under Venus's punishing power, the world number two breaking her opponent twice on the way to sweeping six of the next seven games.
In the second set it was Seles once again taking control breaking Venus at the first opportunity.
The two players swapped serves twice before Venus registered the decisive break at 5-4 then held serve to close out the entertaining contest on her second match point.
"I'm just really use to winning that I just thought I could win," said Venus, the winner of seven titles this season. "It was definitely a great match."
