As soon as the draw was released for the 2008 Bangalore Open, spectators couldn’t help but notice one intriguing section; Venus and Serena Williams were placed in the same half of the draw. But would they be able to battle their way through tough competition and revive their intense rivalry?

Both sisters entered the tournament with huge question marks looming over them. Venus, for example, had fallen short on two occasions, succumbing to Dominika Cibulkova and Petra Kvitova, both unlikely conquerors. Would she even be able to make it past her first hurdle in the second round?

Due to gum surgery, Serena entered without playing an event since January, where she lost in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open to Jelena Jankovic. Could she make a triumphant return at the Bangalore Open?

'Their semi-final clash will be the first all-Williams match-up since the 2005 U.S Open, where Venus won in straight sets'


Serena breezed through to the quarter-finals with a 7-5 6-0 demolition of Tzipora Obziler, but Venus struggled against Shuai Peng. Venus cruised through the first set, winning 6-2, but soon ran into some trouble against the Chinese girl. After failing to capitalise on numerous match points in the second set, she finally pulled through in a 6-2 6-7 6-2 victory.

But at the end of the match, one statistic stood out; her 15 double faults. Even though she is known as one of the strongest servers on tour, she can also become very erratic and in her first match that’s exactly what she was.

In the quarter-finals, the sisters both cruised into the final four, as second-seed Venus handled seventh-seed Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-4 6-3 and third-seed Serena dismissed Russian Anastasia Rodionova 6-1 6-4. Venus, currently ranked seventh in the world, and Serena, at No. 11, own 14 Grand Slam singles titles between them and both women are, of course, former world No.1 stars.

Their semi-final clash will be the first all-Williams match-up since the 2005 U.S Open, where Venus won in straight sets. Even though they have split their fourteen meetings, Serena looks to be the stronger sister at the moment. If Venus wants to win, she will need to keep her serve under control and pressure her sibling into as many unforced errors as possible.

The result could go either way, but whichever sister proves to be strongest will head into the final as the clear favorite to hoist their first trophy of 2008. Either way, it's great to have both Williams sisters back in top form.