| All-Williams Final at The Lipton | |
Dateline: 03/27/99
Serena and Venus Williams will meet in the finals of The Lipton Championships tomorrow. Never before in the Open Era have two sisters played a tour final, and this should be an exceptionally interesting first.
Serena is on a sixteen-match winning streak. She entered the Lipton fresh off victories in the Open Gaz de France and the Evert Cup. In earlier Lipton rounds, she had convincing wins against tough opponents Monica Seles and Amanda Coetzer, then in the semifinal against world number one Martina Hingis, Serena came up with the better end of an unusually dramatic series of shifts in momentum.
Venus, determined in defending her Lipton title, had several tough matches on her way through the draw, including her first defeat ever of Jana Novotna in the quarterfinal. With some spectacular running, bold attacks at net, and well-minimized unforced errors, she defeated Steffi Graf in the semifinal to earn this historic meeting with her sister.
The ascent of the Williams sisters through the rankings is no surprise to most tennis fans. Their great foot speed, reach, and power make them formidable athletes, and they are learning quickly how to play every part of the court. Both have strong forehands and even stronger backhands, good volleys, and among the fastest serves on the tour. (Venus has the all-time women's serving record at 127 m.p.h.)
For more background on the two sisters who will most likely reside at or near the top of women's tennis for much of the next several years, check out the 1999 records of Serena and Venus.
