Williams vs. Williams

 Ten days of tennis and 126 competitors later, it's the Williams Sisters who will verse each other in the final of the Australian Open where age is continually triumphant over youth.

Older sister Venus defeated young American Coco Vandeweghe in two hours 26 minutes to reach her first grand slam final since Wimbledon in 2009, changing tactics in the second set after dropping her first set of the tournament against an opponent "who is just on fire."

"There was never a moment where she wasn't just hitting the ball amazing and striking the ball with just such precision," 36-year-old Williams told reporters after defeating the 25 year old American 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3.

"The way she was playing the match, it was like I was just going to have to play defense, try to play offense whenever I had an opportunity.

"I want to dictate, but the way she was playing, it was almost impossible to do so."

Thursday's exit is a missed opportunity for Vandeweghe after making the first career grand slam singles semifinal, controlling the match's early stages but was then not able to respond as quick enough to Williams' change to a defensive tact.

"She also came up with some clutch plays when I had breakpoints to get breakpoints back, in both sets, the second and the third," Vandeweghe said.

"It's a combination of myself not playing as well to get back into the match.

"But you have to give credit where credit's due, (Williams) played better than I did today when it mattered in the points on her service game."

Williams will take on younger sister Serena on Saturday after the 35-year-old defeated Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-2, 6-1 in just 50 minutes, the "best case scenario" after a long Australian Open campaign.

"This is probably the moment of our careers so far... I can definitely say for me," Serena Williams told reporters.

"I never lost hope of us being able to play each other in a final, although it was hard because we're usually on the same side of the draw.

"Whenever we're on the opposite side, I always definitely feel a lot better."

Lucic felt flat on court, "a little bit empty" after playing 10 matches during the Australian Open -- progressed to the quarterfinals of the women's doubles -- and not having a day of rest, a task made more difficult with a troublesome left leg.

"She served incredible, she played really well from the first point," Lucic told reporters, adding "it was tough, I was really trying."

"When Serena plays that well, it's really difficult to play against.

You can't afford, against Serena, to be a step slow, a step not ready, not there, not powerful, not strong."

It's the first time the sisters have played each other since the quarter final of the 2015 U.S. Open and the first time in Melbourne since their all-Williams final 2003, where Serena won on both occasions. Serena also holds the ledger over her younger sister winning 16 of their 27 meetings.

But no matter who wins, Serena said they'll both be winners, Venus again reaching the tops of tennis after being diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome -- an autoimmune disease that causes fatigue and joint pain -- in 2011 and taking time out of the professional ring to recover.

"We lived together, I know what she went through," Williams said.

"It's the one time that I genuinely feel like no matter what happens, I can't lose, she can't lose. It's going to be a great situation."

source: Xinhua