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An All-American Day Williams sisters, Davenport impress on July 4th
Posted: Wednesday July 05, 2000 12:05 PM
The Stars and Stripes were flying proudly -- and not without a sense of irony -- around the All England Club on Independence Day as reigning champion Lindsay Davenport and the Williams sisters powered into the Wimbledon semi finals. A quintessentially British institution was awash with American celebration on the 4th of July. No barbecues on a rainy night here in England for Lindsay, Venus or Serena -- but a fair few fireworks throughout the day. And come to think of it, Serena did give Lisa Raymond a grilling on No.1 Court so she did enjoy her own form of cookout. Raymond certainly had that charcoal-burnt look as Serena sent her a barrage of fiery hotshots. The 18-year-old lost just two games in the match and has given up just 13 in the tournament. Davenport says without hesitation: "Serena is playing the best tennis of anyone here." Mind you, elder sister Venus didn't look too bad against Martina Hingis on Centre Court in one of the matches of Wimbledon 2000. 
Like little sis, her power is relentless. Sometimes she could use a little more finesse or ingenuity, but suggested that to go against her nature out on court is to nullify her strengths. In other words, keep the turbo power at full thrust. But against Hingis, Venus either hit winners or made errors. There was little ground in between. On a day when Hingis was almost always on the back foot, variety would have added to the spice of victory for Venus. But, hey, she won -- so call me choosy. As for Lindsay, she is one of the sweetest people in sport -- a true delight. But she is nobody's fool, no one's pushover. Last year was a breeze for Davenport as she waltzed across the lush lawns of SW 19 without losing a set. This year, coming off injury, it has been much tougher. But she's learned from her three Grand Slam singles triumphs. Lindsay knows now better than ever what she has to do to win -- and even when she's way behind has belief she can triumph, drawing on the inspirational memories of old.
She needed to borrow extensively from the memory bank when trailing 3-love in the final set against Elena Likhovtseva in the second round and again when a set down to Monica Seles in the quarters. Even when Seles fended off a succession of break points in a crucial sixth game in the second set, where there were 10 deuces, Davenport wasn't floored. She won that set 6-4 and rolled in the third, 6-love, later saying she was proud of the way she pulled through. Young Australian Jelena Dokic is the only one standing in the way of an all-American final on Saturday. Davenport has displayed the courage of a champion thus far having played just three matches between injuring her back at the Italian Open and Wimbledon. She won't let it slip now. As for the other semi, how can one choose between such devoted sisters? They were delirious with joy to reach the last four, but not quite so happy when it came to talking about facing each other. They did their best to reminisce about their childhood practices. Serena said she cheated. Venus explained it was only when her younger sister was behind. "There are line judges and an umpire here, though, " said Venus, "so she can't get away with it." But the banter about old times was forced. They would be gushing with confidence and enthusiasm if they were playing someone else in the semis instead of each other. But as proud as they are of their respective achievements, facing off for a place in the Wimbledon final -- the biggest match in anyone's tennis career -- is simply weird. What will father Richard say before the sibling semi showdown? "Go and have fun," says Venus. "That's all." I'm not sure it will be fun for either youngster unless they truly mean it when they insist there can ultimately be only one winner ... the Williams family.
Phil Jones is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International. Jones is part of the World Sport crew that is in England covering Wimbledon.
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