Williams sisters plan to keep it in the family

The Williams sisters were headed for an unprecedented family showdown yesterday after contrasting, but equally impressive, victories at the Sydney international tennis tournament.

Sixteen-year-old Serena Williams claimed the biggest scalp of her fledgling career with a brave win over world number three Lindsay Davenport to reach the tournament's semi-finals.

She then saw her 17-year-old sister, Venus, thrash Bulgaria's Magdalena Maleeva 6-2, 6-2 for a place in the other semi-final - leaving open the possibility of a family final tomorrow. It would be the first time since the women's professional tour started in 1971 that two sisters have contested a final. Maleeva's elder sisters, Katarina and Manuela, came closest in a semifinal at the 1991 Canadian Open.

The Williams sisters did contest a junior final in California seven years ago when Venus, then aged 10, beat Serena, eight, 6-2, 6-2.

"When I go out there, I'm going to see her as an opponent. She's my sister, yeah, but I want to win and I'm sure she wants to win," Serena said.

Davenport's defeat meant that Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who scored a quarter-final victory over Natasha Zvereva of Belarus, was the only seed left in the women's draw.

Sanchez Vicario will meet the younger Williams in today's semifinals, while Venus will meet either Barbara Paulus of Austria or Ai Sugiyama of Japan, who play the last quarter-final this morning.

In the men's draw, top seed Patrick Rafter of Australia and defending champion Tim Henman of Britain, seeded sixth, booked a semi-final together.

Rafter produced some of his best net play, but showed a typical lack of concentration in the middle of the match as he beat unseeded American Todd Martin 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1.

Henman wrapped up a rain-interrupted second-round match against Spain's Francisco Clavet before coming back to see off Thomas Enqvist 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.

The other men's semi-final will pit Slovenia's Karol Kucera, who beat Australia's Jason Stoltenberg 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, against another Australian, Michael Tebbutt, who beat Spanish seventh seed Albert Costa.

Serena Williams appeared totally outclassed by second seed Davenport and faced two match points against her at 2-5 in the second set after winning only one game in a first set.

But she staged a remarkable comeback, winning point after point to oust her fellow American 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a match lasting two hours and five minutes.