THE WILLIAMS IN POLE-POSITION !

AUSTRALIAN OPEN '98

21/01/98 : Williams in pole-position !!

20/01/98 : Venus Williams went into this match with a lot of expectations, many created by the world number 16 herself. After upsetting world number one Martina Hingis in Sydney last week, and having reached the final of her last Grand Slam event (1997 US Open), Williams was overwhelming favourite against Alexia Dechaume-Ballaret.
There was one thing the 17-year-old did not have. She had never played at the Australian Open before, while her French opponent had played here seven times previously.
But here was Williams, being touted as a serious contender for the title, without having set foot on Melbourne Park's Centre Court.
The 1.86 metre American thrives on challenges. Would someone who doesn't, predict that she and her sister Serena would rule women's tennis in the near future ?.

It took a while to acclimatise to the surroundings, but Williams did not disappoint. Hair-beads jangling, serve booming, groundstrokes thundering, Venus committed some unforced errors in the first few games, but before long she was delivering what the crowd had come to see - the complete player, and one of the shining stars of women's tennis.
Williams was not afraid to net-rush. Indeed, a couple of 'slam dunks' in the tradition of Sampras were a highlight. She displayed touch, as well as power, and the ability to make extraordinary angles on her groundstrokes, forcing Dechaume-Balleret wide, and giving Venus the space to hit those winners.
A 6-3, 6-0 victory to Williams, in 49 minutes, was a satisfying debut in just her fourth Grand Slam event.
Sister Serena, who had played Dechaume-Balleret before, undoubtedly offered advice to her big sis prior to the match, spent much of it commentating for Australian television. The 16-year-old's interest in the match was not merely formed by family ties. After stunning sixth seed Irina Spirlea earlier in the day, Serena was scouting her next opponent.

The historic second round clash will mark the first time the Williams sisters have played each other in more than seven years, and obviously, the first professional clash between them.
Incidentally, a then-10-year-old Venus won their one-and-only meeting 6-2, 6-2, and will be favoured to win again. But Serena has already improved her ranking 43 spots to 53 in 1998, courtesy of a semi final finish in Sydney, including an upset of third ranked Lindsay Davenport. Venus says nothing will change ahead of the match. They will still practice together in the morning, but whether they will unleash any secret tactics remains to be seen.
"I guess I wouldn't really want to lose, " said Venus of the match. "But that's the only person I would be happy losing to, because I would say, "Go ahead, Serena. Go ahead. Take the title." If only it were that easy. The victor still has five more matches to win before Grand Slam glory is theirs.

21/01/98 : Venus wins battle of the Williams sisters at Australian Open

Venus Williams showed younger sister Serena that older is wiser in winning the battle of the Williams sisters, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 Wednesday (tonight in the United States) in second-round action at the $7.4 million Australian Open in Melbourne.
The matchup between the teenage sisters marked the eighth time since 1975 that two sisters have done battle, including the seventh in a Grand Slam and third at the Australian Open. On every occasion, the older sister has come out on top. Both sisters had trouble holding serve in the opening set, as each was broken four times. After Venus finally took the first set in 56 minutes, she broke her sister twice and stormed through the second set in 30 minutes.

"I kept seeing Serena across the net and it was a little bit odd," said Venus. "But it's to be accepted because in the future it will be the same. It was fun in a way. It would have been great fun if it was the final, but it wasn't so funny eliminating my little sister. I told her, 'Let's make sure we meet in the finals now', because then I won't care about the title."

Venus won 64 percent of points on her first serve and just 40 percent on her second serve. She had 18 winners to Serena's 15 and won 75 points to Serena's 63. Serena committed eight double faults and 40 unforced errors, winning just 51 percent of points on her first serve and just 28 percent on her second serve.

"I just tried to think of her (Venus) as someone else," said Serena. "It felt okay. I wasn't nervous at all. I tried to treat it as a normal match. Venus has a little bit more experience than me and I think my serve wasn't the way it should have been. Next time I'll play a better backhand. But what you guys saw today is definitely something to watch for in the future."

The 16-year-old Serena, who knocked off sixth seed Irina Spirlea of Romania on Monday, was playing in her first Grand Slam tournament while the 17-year-old Venus is playing at the Australian Open for the first time after reaching the U.S. Open final last year.

The Venus Williams Show, Roger Gatchalian, January 25, 1998
Venus Williams v. Patty Schnyder

It is sometimes hard to believe that this is Venus Williams' first Australian Open. The unseeded 17-year-old has become the first woman to advance to this year's quarter finals, as if it were a foregone conclusion.
Never in her fourth round match, her first against talented Swiss teenager Patty Schnyder, did Venus look pressed. Indeed, when Patty appeared to be handling the Williams groundstroke power, the American answered the challenge by doing what she does best... hitting the ball harder, and harder, and harder. As hard as it needs to be so the ball doesn't come back.
In 54 minutes, Williams was into the final eight, with a 6-4, 6-1 victory. Venus says she was most happy with her serve.
"I guess I've been working on that serve since maybe November, just changing the toss. I've been working on being more consistent, and for the first time in tournament play I've actually been serving well in this match," said Williams.
Both players displayed fine form prior to the Open. Schnyder won her first Tour title in Hobart last week, while Venus beat Martina Hingis for the first time, en route to the Sydney final. Patty, ranked 25, plays a similar back-court game to 16th-ranked Williams, except she mixes up the pace of her shots a little more. The trouble was, when Patty's shots were closer to the service line than the baseline, Venus showed no mercy, blasting a total of 22 winners. Schnyder's situation was not helped by a 49% success rate when her first serve went in, and a dismal 31% on her second serve.
"I think she [Venus] gets a lot of balls back. She runs everything down. Her first serve is really good, and I'm just not happy with my game, and I hope when I play her next time, I am a little bit fitter and not that tired," said Schnyder. In reaching the fourth round, Schnyder equalled last year's Australian Open performance, and comes away from the Australian summer with her head held high.
"The first feeling after you lose a match is disappointed, but I think tomorrow, and especially when I get home, I am really happy about the three weeks or the month I spent here in Australia, and I really played some good matches," said 19-year-old Schnyder.

For Venus, whose doubles campaign with sister Serena is still in full flight, her quarter final opponent will be either Romanian 15th seed, Ruxandra Dragomir, or second seed Lindsay Davenport. Venus may seek some advice from Serena if Davenport wins, after she beat the American in Sydney last week.
"I played her [Davenport] one time, Indian Wells, my first tournament of the year, and I was unwise. And then I played her again in Zurich, and I didn't have a forehand. Plus, she just played well. I wasn't really willing to play aggressive, and she really just over-powered me because she played well. She served well too, so I'll be ready," said Williams.

With such confidence, it appears little will please Venus unless she leaves Melbourne at the end of the fortnight with a Grand Slam trophy in her luggage.