Top > Sport > 2005 > September > 2005-09-04

Williams sisters are swinging

The bling don`t mean a thing if she ain`t got that swing. Serena Williams had it all -- the $40,000 diamond chandelier earrings upgraded with 3-carat studs, the 10-carat diamond choker, the sweet swings that had been missing in her comeback -- as she flashed her best tennis of the U.S. Open on Friday.

Williams, taking on a seeded player for the first time in the tournament, avenged a loss to Italy`s Francesca Schiavone at Rome in May with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Next up in the fourth round for the No. 8 Williams is her sister and fellow two-time champion, No. 10 Venus, who followed her in the stadium in the evening with a 6-3, 6-3 win against No. 20 Daniela Hantuchova. Venus, bejeweled less lavishly but glittering in lavender, felt just as good on court in front of an Open record night crowd of 23,352.

Neither sister wanted to meet this early in the tournament. Six of their eight Grand Slam matches against each other have been in finals, Serena winning the last five. This ninth clash in a major is the earliest since the second round of the 1998 Australian Open. Venus won that time in straight sets.