Tennis
PREVIEW: Nervous father set to exit England before sister showdown
By Bill Scott
Jul 4, 2008, 10:30 GMT

London - Richard Williams doesn't plan to stay around and watch his gladiator daughters battle it out Saturday in their third all-sibling Wimbledon finals showdown.

The divorced tennis parent and his current girlfriend are expected to be high over the Atlantic and well away from the action when Venus bids for a fifth All England club crown and Serena goes for a third.

With the family sharing a house near the club, it will be more than just jostling for the bathroom between the pair of multiple Grand Slam champions.

For her part, the younger Serena threatens jokingly to steal her sister's breakfast on finals day while Venus is more focussed on the human angle in the unique relationship.

'I think we share even more things together off the court, we definitely rely on each other's advice even more,' said the 28-year- old who lost the 2002 and 2003 finals to Serena.

'I was a big sister...(who never makes mistakes). I think sometimes it put pressure on her like to be perfect, also. We both now know our roles in the relationship and we support each other.'

Serena leads their head-to-heads 8-7, winning a last meeting in February at the Bangalore semi-finals.

Holder Venus was the sister to lift the most recent major, though Serena won the Australian Open in January 2007 after months of inactivity and a sharply lowered ranking.

The 26-year-old younger sibling outpaces her sister by eight to six titles in the Grand Slam singles race.

Venus is asking and giving no quarter with her 'every Williams for themselves' attitude. And she is putting huge faith in her big serve to see her through in the family affair.

'When I get it going it helps me out a ton. I think that and being able to go out there and return really well will be key for me.

'To win a title, you've got to play aggressive and not just hope that your opponent misses.'

Serena is also ready to set sisterhood to the side and take the game to her sibling.

'It's easy, especially with sibling rivalry - I personally want everything that Venus has. She wins a trophy, I would desperately want it. I would be really eager to have it,' said Serena.

'We're good at this now. We just leave everything out on the court. This is the finals of Wimbledon. Who doesn't want it?'