Melbourne Park was where Venus Williams and Serena Williams first clashed in a tour match in 1998 and nearly 20 years on, the Americans will add another chapter to tennis’s greatest sibling rivalry. Get live tennis score and live updates of Sunday’s Australian Open women’s final between Serena Williams vs Venus Williams here. ALL TIMINGS BELOW in IST. (Where to see live streaming, live TV)
2:11 pm IST: BREAK! Serena earns the break in Game 1 itself. Leads 1-0
2:09 pm: Serena with two break points early on in Game 1
2:01 pm: Serena wins the toss and Venus to serve to start the game
The women’s final has arrived. Welcome @Venuseswilliams and @serenawilliams onto RLA #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/B5py04fp0k
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2017
1:57 pm: The Williams sisters are out on the court now.
Czech tennis champion Hana Mandlíková delivers the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup ahead of #Serena vs #Venus #AusOpen final pic.twitter.com/lQ7okeaIof
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2017
1:50 pm: Venus Williams (36) will be the oldest women’s player to lift the Australian Open singles title if she wins today. The record is held by the late Thelma Coyne Long who won it aged 35 back in 1954.
1:42 pm: Serena Williams will reclaim the No 1 spot if she wins the Australian Open
They’ve played many times before, but who will it be that tastes victory tonight?#ausopen pic.twitter.com/HrsAZHq1Ti
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2017
1:30 pm: If Serena wins the title in straight sets against Venus, she’ll join Martina Navratilova as the only other woman to win six Grand Slams without dropping a set. At present, she shares the second spot at five with Chris Evert and Steffi Graf.
1:15 pm: Serena has won seven of the last eight meetings against Venus.
1:12 pm: In most head-to-head meetings in Grand Slams among women in the Open era, only Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova (22) have clashed more times than the Williams sisters.
1:09 pm: This will be the ninth clash at a Grand Slam final between Serena Williams vs Venus Williams and is the second-most in the all-time list behind Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert (14).
1:04 pm: Serena holds a 6-2 edge over Venus in Major finals, 9-5 in overall Grand Slam clashes and a 16-11 edge in career meetings.
It’s one of the best matches a tennis fan could ask for!
So what do the fans think of the Serena v Venus matchup? https://t.co/foGTfafHEF
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2017
Coincidentally, Rafael Nadal holds a similar 6-2 edge over Roger Federer in Grand Slam finals. Federer and Nadal will face each other in the men’s singles final tomorrow.
The Final head to head. Are you team #Serena or #Venus? #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/4HBJUMaDCE
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2017
1:00 pm: At a combined age of 71, this is the oldest Grand Slam final ever.
12:57 pm: The last time the two met in a Grand Slam final was in the 2009 Wimbledon; Serena won in straight sets. Serena has also won the last time the two have met in a Grand Slam (2015 US Open quarterfinal).
12:45 pm: Venus Williams spent four years in the wilderness from 2011-14, a period in which she was unable to surpass a fourth round at any of the majors.
Who will be the women’s #AusOpen 2017 champion: @Venuseswilliams or @serenawilliams? ? pic.twitter.com/TUfHSPQpjj
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2017
12:44 pm: Eras have come and gone but Serena Williams has never left the stage, winning nine grand slam titles since turning 30.
PREVIEW
This combination of pictures shows Venus Williams (left) hitting a return against Coco Vandeweghe of the US during their women’s singles semi-final match and Serena Williams (R) hitting a return against Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni during their women’s singles semi-final match on January 26, 2017. Serena and Venus will contest the Australian Open women’s singles final on Saturday. Get live tennis score and live updates here. (AFP)
.@serenawilliams getting into the swing of things before her #AusOpen final against sister @Venuseswilliams pic.twitter.com/7no2OEp9kC
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2017
A seventh title at Melbourne Park would add further credit to Serena Williams’ claim as the greatest of all time, despite being one short of Australia’s Margaret Court, whose 24 major titles were split between the amateur and professional eras.
.@serenawilliams warming up before she has a hit on the practice court #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/qZwEsPJWNW
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2017
For 13th seed Venus Williams, her first grand slam final in eight years is already a stunning victory of perseverance in the face of her struggles to manage Sjogren’s syndrome, an auto-immune disease that causes fatigue and joint pain.
Graphic on the match history between Serena Williams and Venus Williams, who will play each other in a Grand Slam final for the 9th time at the Australian Open on Saturday. Get live tennis score and updates here. (AFP)
Both players stormed into the semi-finals without a set dropped.
Sibling rivalry: How the Williams sisters are the greatest duo in sports.#AusOpenhttps://t.co/wsmqiqUazK
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2017
However, where second seed Serena Williams romped into the final with a 50-minute demolition of Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Venus needed to summon her peerless experience to fend off feisty fellow American Coco Vandeweghe in three sets.
The wait is almost over. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/5l7NoeysqM
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2017
Saturday’s final will be the Williams sisters ninth at a grand slam and their first since Wimbledon in 2009, where Serena won in two sets.
Source: HindustanTimes