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The First Time We Saw The Williams Sisters In An Australian Open Final Was 19 Years Ago

Whoa.
Venus won the match, but the hair was definitely a tie.
Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
Venus won the match, but the hair was definitely a tie.

The Williams sisters are in another major tournament final together. We could write long, evocative paragraphs about their tennis dominance. Instead, here are some numbers and pictures. Enjoy.

It's been 20 years since Venus, then aged 16, made her first grand slam final at the U.S. Open. She lost to Martina Hingis, but still. TWENTY YEARS AGO!

The sisters at the 2017 Open. Ummmm... OK.
Michael Dodge via Getty Images
The sisters at the 2017 Open. Ummmm... OK.

Together, the sisters have won 29 grand slam titles (Serena 22, Venus 9). It's about to be 30.

They are meeting in the final of a grand slam tournament for the ninth time. Serena currently leads 6-2. Which is a very tennisy score.

We're good, aren't we? Shhh! Don't tell anyone!
JUSTIN TALLIS via Getty Images
We're good, aren't we? Shhh! Don't tell anyone!

Venus is 36, Serena 35. That means one of them is about to be the oldest female grand slam winner. The oldest finalist was Martina Navratilova, who lost the 1994 Wimbledon final, aged 37.

Serena leads 9-5 in sisterly grand slam meetings, while the overall head-to-head contest between the sisters (in all tournaments) is 16-11. No one else has ever beaten Serena as many times as Venus.

They're guns. The players we mean, not Serena's arms.
JEWEL SAMAD via Getty Images
They're guns. The players we mean, not Serena's arms.

Their first head-to-head match in professional tennis was in 1998 at the Australian Open. Venus beat her little sister Serena, who was playing her first grand slam.

Venus was the 17th seed at this tournament but was 100-1 with the sports bookies. Serena was seeded second, but has always been the tournament favourite.

Another one from Melbourne, 1988. Love it.
Bob Martin via Getty Images
Another one from Melbourne, 1988. Love it.

Serena has not lost a set so far this tournament. Venus has only lost one, and that was against the rapidly improving American Coco Vandeweghe in the semi. If Serena wins the final in straight sets, it'll be her sixth grand slam win without dropping a single set.

The last time the sisters met was in the 2015 U.S. Open quarter finals. Serena won. Their last meeting in a Grand Slam final was 2009 Wimbledon. Serena again.

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