Tracy Austin

NEW YORK - Between them Venus and Serena Williams have won 15 majors. Four of those have been U.S. Opens. Venus was the last lady standing at Flushing Meadows in 2000 and 2001 while Serena had that distinction in 1999 and 2002.

Fans of the sisters are thinking it’s about time for either Venus or Serena to repeat that feat as both have cruised through the first couple of rounds in the Big Apple, each showing readiness for a run on the hard courts that will culminate with a singles crown on Super Saturday night.

It’s surprising that it’s been six years since a Williams sister reigned as queen of Queens and in Venus’ case I’m very surprised that she hasn’t claimed more than a couple of U.S. Open crowns given her game and style of play. Her formidable run at this major came between 1997 and 2002 when in addition to her two titles she made two other appearances in the final and two more in the semifinals.

Besides their talent – which when they are playing at their best – can be heads above all their challengers --  the sisters have other factors working in their favor as they try to end their family’s  stretch of leaving New York without another singles title to add to the collection of Venus or Serena.

Justine Henin, who beat both Venus and Serena at last year’s U.S. Open on her way to taking the title has retired. Maria Sharapova, the 2006 U. S. Open champion, is sidelined and rehabilitating a shoulder injury. And Ana Ivanovic, the top seed is gone, having been stunned in the second round by Julie Coin, a qualifier from France.

In fact, it may very well be that the biggest hurdle for each Williams sister to overcome to win this U.S. Open is each other. In a draw Venus and Serena did not wish for they are potential and likely quarterfinal opponents next Tuesday night.

They would have preferred that any meeting between them on the grandest tennis stage in New York – Arthur Ashe Stadium – would have come in the women’s singles final. They wanted it just like at Wimbledon earlier this summer when neither lost a set on the way to the title match on grass, won by Venus, 7-5, 6-4.

Picking a favorite in an all-Williams quarterfinal clash is tricky.  If the match were on clay, I’d give Serena the edge because she has won on the red dirt at the French Open and Venus has not. On grass, my nod would go to Venus, who has won Wimbledon five times. But on a hard court, I call it equal. And the numbers bear that out as it’s virtually even (6-5 Serena) when the sisters battle it out on hard courts.

While by no means a forgone conclusion, a showdown between the sisters is expected by many.

In the third round on Saturday Venus faced her first seeded opponent -- No. 27 Alona Bondarenko. The Ukrainian was coming off a knee injury but it was no contest. Venus with an awesome display of power took out Bondarenko in 57 minutes, winning 6-2, 6-1.

Venus’ fourth-round opponent will be Agnieszka Radwanska, the ninth seed from Poland. In Radwanska Venus should encounter a test. Radwanska is a good player, who works hard, moves and hits the ball very well. She’s very strong mentally and won the only match she has played against Venus at Luxembourg in 2006, losing only three games. Radwanska is also no stranger to picking off a top contender at a major as last year she sent Sharapova down to defeat in a third-round stunner here at Flushing Meadows. I see Venus getting past Radwanska but she’ll likely have to work for the win.

To continue to prevail against more accomplished and talented opponents than she encountered in the early rounds, Venus must stay in the groove we saw from her in her second-round triumph over Rossana De Los Rios, 6-0, 6-3.

In that match Venus hit the ball very well and served a high percentage on her first serve. She didn’t make many unforced errors and she moved very well but then movement is always a strength for her.  

Serena’s third-round foe on Saturday was Ai Sugiyama, the No. 30 seed from Japan, who was  0-3 vs. little sister coming into the match and is now 0-4 as Serena won easily, 6-2, 6-1.

By moving past Sugiyama Serena has a fourth-round date with wild-card entrant Severine Bremond of France, who upset No. 20 Nicole Vaidisova in the second round and ousted unseeded Tathiana Garbin in three sets in the third round. Serena has never played Bremond but will be heavily favored in the match.

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