Venus Williams Tops Sister Serena To Repeat As Lipton Champion

Jet, April 12, 1999

In a historic WTA match, Venus Williams was able to hold off younger sister Serena to repeat as victor in the Lipton Championships in Key Biscayne, FL.

It was the first all-sister women's final in 115 years. Venus defeated Serena 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. The only previous meeting of siblings in a final was in 1884 at Wimbledon when Maud Watson defeated her older sister Lilian.

After the match, there was no jubilation from Venus; she walked to the net to hug her sister and they left the court together.

"I really thought I was going to cry," said proud father Richard Williams, who held up a sign that read "Welcome To the Williams Show" at the start of the showdown. "What was going through my mind was all the problems we've had in tennis, bringing the girls up, how difficult it was, the gang members, all the people out there.

"I was saying, `Look where you are today.' It was so difficult for me to believe it."

While the doting father was emotional, the sisters tried to shrug off all the talk of the sibling rivalry.

"It's not too big," Venus, 18, said. "In the end, we go home and live life. You have to be happy after that. You have to remind yourself it's a game and there's only one winner. Next week, there will be another opportunity."

In fact, when the two are on the court, it's not about sister versus sister.

"I looked over at her sometimes, and I didn't consider her Venus or my sister," Serena told USA Today. "I just considered her an opponent."

Venus added, "There's great satisfaction (in defeating Serena) because she takes players down left and right. So to survive such an onslaught is great."

And the Lipton Championships will probably not be the last time these dynamic siblings will face each other on the court.

"I definitely look forward to another final with Venus," Serena, 17, said. "It's what we always dreamed of."

Venus, who won $265,000 for the win and now leads the sibling rivalry 3-0, will remain sixth in the rankings, while Serena, who earned $132,500, will climb to a career-high 11th. The loss to her big sister ended her 16-match winning streak.