Tennis: Venus Wins Battle of the Sisters

The Williams sisters, aka "It don't mean a thing, baby, if you ain't got bling", flashed their multiple sequins and diamonds on the Arthur Ashe court last night but their combined talents barely raised a glimmer of excitement. Venus reached the quarter-finals 7-6, 6-2 in an atmosphere that might have made a library reading-room sound noisy.

"Are you guys ready for the Williams sisters?" Venus had demanded on Friday after her third-round victory over Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. It was as if she believed something might have changed but this, their third meeting here, was no better than the other two, both of which were finals.

It has been stated often enough just how difficult it is for the sisters to play each other - they have now met 14 time and are level at 7-7. The passion and the effort are understandably muted, and because they are both so attack-minded the rallies are inevitably staccato.

Neither enjoys it, and both were disappointed that this meeting, brought about by their relatively low seedings, Serena eight and Venus 10, happened as early as the fourth round. Of their previous 13 matches all but the first, in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open, had been in quarter-finals or better. Eight had been finals, and six of those grand slam finals, of which Serena won five.

But since winning her seventh grand slam title in Australia this year Serena has been dogged by injuries and she entered this tournament having barely played since Wimbledon, and with only 11 wins since Melbourne. This defeat was inevitable.

For a while it seemed that Serena's fighting spirit and mental strength might overcome her obvious lack of match fitness. Venus broke through in the seventh game against her younger sister but Serena levelled at 5-5 when Venus played a shockingly inept service game, and the younger sister had a set point at 6-5. But after that she faded fast, as was to be expected.

The two had also been drawn to meet in the fourth round of Wimbledon this year but Serena lost in the third against a fellow American, Jill Craybas, and Venus went on to win the title, her fifth major and the first since winning here in 2001.

"Playing her early on like this was really weird and bizarre," said Serena, who will be remembered more for her $40,000 (£22,000) earrings than her play. "I thought we both played pretty horribly," she added. Nobody disagreed.

Maria Sharapova, the No1 seed, cruised into the last eight against Sania Mirza, winning 6-2, 6-1. The 18-year-old Indian, the most successful woman player in the history of her country and hugely popular, is the same age as the US-based Russian but much less experienced.

In particular Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, exposed the vulnerability of Mirza's second serve and the hit-and-miss nature of her ral lying. "I enjoy hitting the ball as hard as I can," Mirza said. Unfortunately for her, Sharapova hit it just as hard and a good deal more accurately.

It is to be hoped that as the women's tournament moves towards its conclusion the quality improves markedly. The vast number of injuries of late mean that rarely are all the leading players 100% fit. "It's been brutal this summer and maybe this will be a real catalyst for the WTA to look at it," said the former US Open champion Tracy Austin.

So far the women's ruling body has steadfastly remained in denial, with Larry Scott, the WTA chief executive, declaring: "We do not see a pattern." The schedule needs to be pared back promptly, otherwise absenteeism will increase and public and sponsors will be increasingly hacked off.