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The most unusual and, at times, uncomfortable rivalry in tennis is once more in the spotlight at the pinnacle of the sport: Venus will play Serena in their third all-in-the-family Wimbledon final Saturday.
It's their seventh Grand Slam title match - Serena holds a 5-1 edge over her sister - but first final at any tournament since 2003.
"Our main focus is obviously both of us getting to the final," Venus said. "Then, from there, it's every Williams for themself."
While there are, of course, differences in personality (Venus calls herself a nerd; Serena is more extroverted) and game (Venus' serve is faster, for example, and Serena's return is considered better), the siblings' paths to what will be their 16th head-to-head matchup were remarkably similar.
"We've both been working extremely hard," said Serena, who holds an 8-7 career edge over Venus. "It's just coming together."
Both have been ranked No. 1, but a combination of injuries and inactivity contributed to Venus being No. 7 now, and Serena No. 6. All of the top four-seeded women were gone by the quarterfinals, the first time that's ever happened at Wimbledon, which cleared the way a bit for the sisters.
They've combined for 11 finals appearances since 2000 at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, including when Serena beat Venus for the 2002 and 2003 titles.
One interested party who won't be there Saturday: Richard Williams, the architect of the greatest one-family dynasty in tennis history.
The father and coach who decided to teach his daughters how to swing rackets in Compton, Calif., and has seen them grace the game's greatest stages, hates seeing them slug it out against each other. So he's flying home to the United States. Won't even follow the match on TV.
"I can't stand to watch them play," he said between puffs of a victory cigarillo once the semifinals were over. "I can never do that. It makes me nervous."
It's not hard to fathom how tough it must be to try to beat your sibling, and the all-Williams matchups haven't always brought out their best play - although Serena pointedly objected to that assessment Thursday.
"I personally want everything that Venus has," Serena said. "We're good at this now. We just leave everything on the court. This is the finals of Wimbledon. Who doesn't want it?"
Unlike any other two opponents the day before squaring off in a major final, they'll share a table for dinner. While Venus might later unwind by reading a book and Serena probably instead will opt to watch a TV show, it's not as though they'll avoid speaking to each other, even if the topic most likely won't be tennis.
"I mean, we're living together. It would have been kind of weird if we didn't talk to each other," Serena said, then added with a mischievous twinkle in her eye: "Maybe I should try that. It will be like really intimidating or something."
Sometime Saturday afternoon, weather permitting, one Williams sister or the other will be able to declare that she is, at least for the moment, the best player in the world - and in her family.
