Venus Williams burst onto the tennis scene at the ‘97 US Open when she pounded her punishing ground-strokes through the field all the way to the final of the biggest tennis tournaments in America.

She also broke two long-standing records in the process by becoming the first woman since Pam Shriver (1978) to reach the US Open final on her debut, and first unseeded female to reach the US Open final since 1958. Although she lost easily to Martina Hingis, the world No 1 at the time, it served as a barometer of things to come. Her talent and dedication have brought her fame, fortune and (to date) 35 WTA tour titles, six of them Grand Slams. Yet I wonder how she really feels.

I’ve been a fan of the Williams sisters from the very beginning. They’ve added a lot of spice, power and color to the pristine, sometimes stodgy game of tennis, but I’ve been firmly tied to the Venus bandwagon more so than her younger, more talented sister's. That's not a typo! I really meant to say more talented. That fact shows in Serena’s technique on her forehand, backhand and serve (perhaps the best ever in the women's game).

'Blood is thicker than the white lines painted on a tennis court, but this is Venus's profession'


It also shows in the amount of Grand Slam hardware Serena has (eight to Venus's six). And it showed all over Venus’s face when she sat in the stands of the ’99 US Open watching her younger sister win the family's first  Slam. Doing something Venus was unable to do, by beating Martina Hingis, still world' No 1 at the time, in HER very first Grand Slam final.

Everyone ooo'd and aahhh’d when Venus first showed up on the WTA tour and rightly so, but I wonder how she felt when she heard her own father say: “Wait until you all see her little sister Serena. She’s better than Venus" (or something very similar to those words).  Maybe she just brushed off, as many of us do, some of the things Richard Williams says. After all, she was older and almost by right expected herself to be the first in the family to lift the games loftiest trophies.

After establishing themselves as The Forces to be reckoned with during a tour-dominating stretch of four straight Grand Slam finals, beginning with the ’02 French, Wimbledon and US Open and ending in the '03 Australian Open. Venus was soundly beaten in all of them by her younger sister, except in the Australian final which went three sets. To her credit, Venus did beat Serena in the ’01 US Open final (defending her title) which was the first Slam final between sisters in a gajillion years.

But how did it REALLY make her feel to be second best to her younger sister? Obviously Venus loves Serena . Blood is thicker than the white lines painted on a tennis court, but this is her profession. Something their parents have molded them to be the best at and something they worked very hard on since they were very young.

Now, approximately 10 years later, I couldn't help but notice when Venus looked at the players box immediately after winning Wimbledon this year and emphatically yelled "Four" while holding up fingers on both  hands to represent that tally. It made me wonder if she was directing that towards Serena who often holds up her index finger (on just one hand) when winning big titles and saying "No 1"

Of course this is all just speculation. Neither of the sisters have ever given any clue to an actual sibling rivalry in press conferences or interviews. They only bestow respect, props and love towards each-other. Which is how it should be with sisters as close as they are. As far as I'm concerned, they can challenge each-other for the games biggest titles from now until they retire.

Forget the naysayers who insist "The women's game it boring and too predictable" or "They play sloppy tennis when they're competing against each-other" in the good old days when it was almost guaranteed that they'd beat everybody else in the draw and challenge each-other for Slam titles. The Williams Sisters have raised the game with their presence. The other women were forced to work harder and get better in order to compete.

The depth in the women's game is greater now than it's ever been. Justine Henin is the world No 1. Maria Sharapova is a proven champion. Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic have been very consistent this year and Lindsay Davenport, new mother and perhaps the cleanest ball striker the game has ever known, is making a return to the singles tour in September in Bali. All this makes for a very exciting US Open which is quickly approaching and for the tour in general.

Doubt her if you will, but I'm always of the belief that Venus is able to rise to the occasion. She's been doing it since joining the tour no matter who's on the other side of the net. They could be a young, hungry Eastern European or it could be her very own sister. Does it really matter who it is? I'm sure she's very confident and able in her abilities with every opportunity she gets to beat the game's best and be the game's best. That's how I think Venus really feels.