Few can completely grasp Williamses’ dilemma

WIMBLEDON, England – Nobody can truly imagine what Venus and Serena Williams are going through as they prepare to face each other in their third All-in-the-Family Wimbledon final today. How does one fathom what it feels like to grow up in the same room as your sister, spend your entire life loving and admiring her, and then have to compete against her on your sport’s biggest stage with a $1.5 million check on the line?

The Williamses are used to it. It is the seventh time the Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., sisters have met in a Grand Slam final, and the fourth time at Wimbledon. For the seventh time in eight years, a Williams will win the title.

Mike Bryan is one of the rare people with an inkling of what goes on in the Williamses’ psyche. He and his twin brother, Bob, are the world’s top-ranked doubles team. They don’t play each other in singles anymore, but back in the day, they did.

It was always awkward and never great tennis. In fact, their parents didn’t let them play against each other until they were 16 years old. When they did reach finals, one brother or the other would default.

“I remember the times we played, we were both kind of flat,” Mike Bryan said. “You want to win, but you don’t want to beat your brother. … I mean, no matter who wins between Venus and Serena, they’re going to have dinner together that night and fly home together.”

That’s exactly what they did in 2003, the last time the Williams sisters faced each other in the Wimbledon final. Younger sister Serena won for the second year in a row, and the family celebrated at Benihana in London.

This time, the sisters are sharing a rented home and planned to eat breakfast together before their much-anticipated match. A few hours after the singles final, they will be partners for the women’s doubles final.