Williams is confident

With her brash arrogance of youth or blind faith in a blossoming talent, one suspects that Venus Williams offers as coached and calculated a delivery off court as she produces when pummelling opponents.

She relishes the verbal banter of a press conference; bringing a confidence yet paradoxically a girlish immaturity to the proceedings, at times speaking with candour while on other occasions delighting in scoring points off a careless interviewer.

A fawning media, who simper on cue, are largely prepared to indulge the colourful 18-year-old American even at her most obtuse when answering straight forward questions.

Williams, the six foot, one inch Amazonian exudes a sense of importance, of superiority and this is fostered by media reaction. It is a trait shared by her younger and equally striking sibling, Serena.

The upshot can be disquieting; confidence and honesty tainted until blurred by an arrogant disdain. The dominant figure for both sisters is father Richard, the man who is reputed to have banned the girls from dating until they are 21.

Richard Williams, who also coaches the girls, insisted to anyone who would listen that Venus was better than anyone else and would soon be number one.

A bold statement if uttered recently but to do so within weeks of joining the women's tour in 1994, and with no track record at junior level, highlights his forthright nature.

It should, therefore, come as little surprise that his daughters, schooled on such one-liners, can be similarly unequivocal about their own and each others ability. No furrowed brows then when Venus pronounced, after beating Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-3, 6-1 yesterday, that she is ready to win Wimbledon.

When asked what it would mean to her to be out there on Saturday and raise the plate as winner of Wimbledon she replied: "I think it would mean a lot to me. It would be my first singles Grand Slam and I think I would go on to win many more and I think it all starts right now. There has to be a point when you make up your mind that you're going to do something."

Williams is comfortable discussing her own merits but is reluctant to offer an insight, other than being deliberately obvious about an opponent.

Victory yesterday, rendered all the more enjoyable by the identity her opponent Ruano Pascual, the Spaniard who led sister Serena by a set and 4-1 before the latter retired injured, ensures a quarter-final clash with Jana Novotna.

Williams mused: "I think that she serves and volleys, but she also stays at the baseline. I think that it just depends on how she feels. She has a slice and a backhand that she comes over too. I think she is a good grass court player. She played well last year and she's playing well this year and so am I."

The beaded one displayed some nimble footwork in side-stepping the obvious implications of a statement made on Monday when she maintained that Serena was the toughest opponent on her side of the draw. "I really wasn't sure who was in the draw. Serena and I we didn't really know who we were playing up until the third round. We were playing matches, we weren't looking at the draw.

"So I didn't know that Novotna was even in my draw. So it's just the way it is. So today I know that I play the winner of Spirlea and Novotna, but I did not know that yesterday."

Not so much a pinch as a kilo of salt required! In pursuit of mischief Novotna was informed of Williams original comments on the draw.

The Czech star, twice a beaten finalist, admitted: "Well, I don't know how she feels about that. If she feels that way that's absolutely fine. But I think there are other good players in the field and I don't think she's the only one." Novotna proved much to competent for Irina Spirlea in a facile 6-2, 6-3 victory.

The women's quarter-final line-up was completed with victories for number two seed Lindsay Davenport, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, despite dropping the opening set and world number one Martina Hingis, who smiled her way through yet another triumph.