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MELBOURNE, Australia – For the first time in eight years, there will be two Williamses in a major final. One was expected. The other wasn’t even sure she’d be able to get past the first round.

The first time Serena Williams and Venus Williams faced off on tour was here, in Melbourne in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open. That was 19 years ago. Venus won that day, 7-6(4), 6-1, but that match would kickstart a 27-match rivalry that would define both of their careers. On Saturday they will face off for the first time since the 2015 US Open quarterfinals, and it’s a match that few ever thought they’d see again in a major final.

“This probably is the moment of our careers so far,” Serena said, after her 50 minute win over Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the semifinals. “For me, I can definitely say for me. I never lost hope of us being able to play each other in a final.”

Serena has now made seven finals in her last 10 majors, and she’s a win away from breaking Stefanie Graf’s record of 22 major titles and returning to No.1. The World No.2 has not dropped a set all tournament and has navigated a difficult draw with ease. Gone are the signs of stress and anxiety that seemed to plague her at the Slams the last year.

“I think just going through that made me this way now, to be honest,” Serena said of her new relaxed attitude. “I think sometimes when you’re stressed out, you have to go through those moments. Everything creates a better you.”

“This opponent is your sister and she's super awesome so it's wonderful.” -#Venus on #Serena#AORadio #AusOpenhttps://t.co/czVY4Irm1c

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

So while Serena’s presence in Saturday’s final was to be expected – she is, after all, a six-time champion at Melbourne Park – big sister Venus has been the surprise. Earlier in the tournament, the seven-time major champion admitted that she was anxious before the start of the Australian Open given injury concerns. In her first tournament of the season at the ASB Classic, she was forced to withdraw after the first round due to right arm pain.

“I mean, honestly, all the signs didn’t look that way in Auckland,” Venus said of her successful run. “Of course, I dreamed of it because I definitely worked hard in the off-season. It was not a great start, I’ll just say that.

“But still I know I can play. You just have to try to figure it out if you can get it to line up all at the same time. That’s why you get out and you try. As long as you continue to try, you have an opportunity. That’s why I’m here.”

To make her first Australian Open final in 14 years, Venus had to dig deep to fend off the overwhelming firepower from CoCo Vandeweghe. In blasting winner after winner in the first set, the younger American was able to bully Venus around the court with her heavy hitting. Venus couldn’t stand toe-to-toe, power for power. And so she adjusted. She dug in. And used her brain and her speed to unwind Vandeweghe, who was playing in the biggest match of her young career.

“I would love more than anything to see her across the net from me on Saturday.” #Venus on possibly facing #Serena in the final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/LBgBcTPqBq

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

“It felt very weird because I never do that,” Venus said, referring to her defense. “Also, at the same time, I’m versatile. I can adjust. I can do what I need to do to win a match. I feel comfortable when I’m uncomfortable at the same time. Even if I’m in a position where I don’t want to be at, it’s not going to throw me off.

“I want to dictate, but the way she was playing, it was almost impossible to do so. So it was just about trying to control the point in whichever way that was. If that meant that defensively I controlled the point, or I was able to get a little offense, whatever it was. I mean, just be the one winning the point at the end somehow.”

.@Venuseswilliams is through to the women's final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/3Jdo8Zlag9

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

Indeed, after trying to outblast Vandeweghe in the first set, Venus began to go for less on her shots, using width and depth to get Vandeweghe uncomfortable. She cleaned up her errors. And most importantly, she had her best serving day of the tournament. Venus smartly handcuffed Vandeweghe with well-timed body-serves, and after seeing her second serve attacked in the first set, she decided to step it up.

“In the first set I served more conservatively,” Venus said. “In the second, I just decided I was going to go for more. It was just really a mentality at that point. I know she’s looking for a second serve. It’s important to try not to give your opponent what they want.

“As the match went longer, the bigger I went on the second. Thankfully I was comfortable doing that and executing it and just going in. It worked.”

In the end, the match was far more tense than the 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3 scoreline might indicate. Vandeweghe earned 13 break points but was only able to convert once.

Venus’ reaction on match point will go down as one of the most memorable, joyous, and redempting displays for the ages. One can only imagine what was flashing in her mind as the reality set in, that she was, for the first time since she was diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, back into a major final.

.@Venuseswilliams is through to the women's final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/3Jdo8Zlag9

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

“I think why people love sport so much, is because you see everything in a line,” Venus said. “In that moment there is no do-over, there’s no retake, there is no voice-over. It’s triumph and disaster witnessed in real-time. This is why people live and die for sport, because you can’t fake it. You can’t. It’s either you do it or you don’t.

“People relate to the champion. They also relate to the person also who didn’t win because we all have those moments in our life.”

Venus’s ebullient celebration could serve as a Rohrschach test for any tennis fan. Do you see the 36-year-old champion, a woman who burst on the scene as a teenager over 20 years ago, showing her tenacity and quality to make a Slam final almost 20 years after making her first at the 1997 US Open?

Or do you see the player who fell out of the Top 100 after being diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder in 2011, who had every right to walk away from the game to pursue her other worldly pursuits, but battled back up to the top of the game by, seemingly, sheer force of will?

“For us both to be in the final is the biggest dream come true for us.” #Serena on playing #Venus in the final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/C8aSHSsxE0

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

“I was always stressed out and worried if she would be okay and be able to play,” Serena said. “I would see her practice, she’d practice so well, do so well. I always felt like when she lost, I was almost surprised, kind of like, How did you lose, because you’re doing so well.

“At the same time I was like, Wow, it’s amazing that you’re even out here. I just really feel fortunate to have been there for the highs and the lows and everything.”

Serena is the favorite heading into the final. As Venus said, her younger sister doesn’t have many weaknesses to her game. While the match-up may look awkward from the outside — No.23 and the No.1 ranking on the line and you have to go through…your own sister? — Serena and Venus shrug it off. They’ve gone through this dance too many times to be distracted by the emotional resonance of their matches, whatever the stakes may be.

SERENA.

VENUS.

THE DREAM.#ausopen pic.twitter.com/zWfxtgxvzn

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2017

“After everything that Venus has been through with her illness and stuff, I just can’t help but feel like it’s a win-win situation for me,” Serena said. “I was there for the whole time. We lived together. I know what she went through. It’s the one time that I really genuinely feel like no matter what happens, I can’t lose, she can’t lose. It’s going to be a great situation.”

For Venus, it’s just about the tennis. “When I’m playing on the court with her, I think I’m playing, like, the best competitor in the game,” Venus said. “I don’t think I’m chump change either. I can compete against any odds. No matter what, I get out there and I compete.

“So it’s like two players who really, really can compete, then also they can play tennis. Then, okay, won’t be an easy match. It’s like I know that it won’t be easy. You have to control yourself, then you also have to hopefully put your opponent in a box. This opponent is your sister, and she’s super awesome.

“It’s wonderful.”

EASTBOURNE, England – Dominika Cibulkova capped off a fantastic week on the English seaside by winning her career-first grass court title at the Aegon International Eastbourne, blasting past Nottingham champion Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 6-3.

Watch live action from Eastbourne this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Cibulkova, who was forced to miss much of the 2015 season after undergoing Achilles surgery, seems to have firmly put her injury woes behind her. The resurgent Slovak was into her fourth final of the year at Eastbourne – including a run to the title in April at the Katowice Open. In fact, she’s tied only with Serena Williams for most finals appearances so far this year.

Things started off a little complicated for the 2014 Australian Open finalist as she went down a break right away. However, the swirling seaside winds wreaked havoc on Pliskova’s normally imperious service games, restoring parity and making for a topsy-turvy first set that saw them trade breaks three times. Cibulkova finally came away with the fourth and decisive break in the final game to take the first set 7-5.

With both players more acclimated to the conditions, the second set was more tightly drawn until Cibulkova clinched the break off a blistering backhand passing shot for a 3-1 lead. She tamped down a late surge from Pliskova to hold serve in a marathon 11-minute game to bring herself to 5-2 and within striking distance of the title.

Watching the ball sail long, Cibulkova could hardly contain her emotions after winning her second WTA title of the year.

POME!

First grass court title for Dominika @Cibulkova!? #AegonInternational https://t.co/US4Bnd6Qlo

— WTA (@WTA) June 25, 2016

“It’s very hard to describe, this has been my best week on grass and it just feels – it just happened and I can’t believe it,” Cibulkova said. “I was playing really well today but the conditions were really hard for me and my opponent. It was a great week for me.

“This is my second time here and I’m gonna come back many more years.”

Despite missing out on the Eastbourne title, Pliskova — who earlier this month won the title at the Aegon Open Nottingham and captured the doubles title at the Aegon Classic Birmingham — can’t complain about her grass court preparations.

“I’m really happy with the way I played this year on grass, with Wimbledon coming so I hope to have better results there,” she said after the match. “I have at least one title and now a final so it’s not that bad.”

With the win, Cibulkova is projected to grab a coveted Top 8 spot on the Road To Singapore Leaderboard, jumping from No.12 to No.7 after Monday’s rankings. She will now be ranked No.18, back into the WTA Top 20 for the first time in almost two years.

Congrats Dominika @Cibulkova!

Lift that #AegonInternational trophy ? https://t.co/aSeg4Wfdh8

— WTA (@WTA) June 25, 2016

WIMBLEDON, Great Britain – No.5 seed Simona Halep kicked off her Wimbledon campaign with a decisive 6-4, 6-1 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to reach the second round in just over an hour.

“I had many days practicing here,” the 2014 semifinalist said in her post-match press conference. “I feel the grass. I feel the court. I feel the atmosphere here. So I’m happy that I could win today. I’m looking forward for the next round, and maybe I will play better after two days.”

Halep was clearly keen to avoid repeating the stunning first round loss she took at last year’s Championships, promptly racing out to a 4-1 double break advantage. Schmiedlova, by contrast, started the year just outside the Top 25 but hasn’t won a WTA main draw match since the Apia International Sydney, struggling to back up her strong 2015 season.

Still, the young Slovak has shown flashes of brilliance this spring, and was the only woman to win a set off Garbiñe Muguruza during the Spaniard’s run to the French Open title. Leveling the set at four games apiece, Halep looked on course for a long day at the All England Club, but quickly shifted into turbo on Court 2, dropping just one more game in the match to advance in straight sets.

“I moved better. I was everywhere, I can say. She had only four winners, so means that I was pretty good on my legs.”

Halep was forced to miss the Aegon Classic with a recurring Achilles injury, but played solid tennis on the fortnight’s first Monday, striking 13 winners to only 16 unforced errors and losing just 10 points behind her first serve; Schmiedlova was left still looking for consistency with four winners to 24 errors.

“This Achilles is very strange. Sometimes it’s hurting me; sometimes not. I hope to be okay.

“I like to have some matches before Wimbledon, but this year I couldn’t. My coach told me that it’s better to come here straight to practice. In my head I had that it’s better to play Eastbourne, but he said that it’s better to come here straight because the conditions are the same and I have to get used.

“So I did like he said, and now I feel good.”

Up next for the Romanian is former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, who knocked out Mallorca Open finalist Anastasija Sevastova, 7-6(7), 6-4. 

.@Simona_Halep notches 20th win of 2016!

Beats Schmiedlova 6-4, 6-1 in @Wimbledon First round! #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/3iUliqmIvV

— WTA (@WTA) June 27, 2016

After reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open, American CoCo Vandeweghe stopped by SportsNation to tell all about her breakout run in Melbourne.

Chatting with a round table that includes ESPN tennis analyst LZ Granderson, Vandeweghe discussed how she deals with mid-match frustrations – typically with a crack of a racquet – and how her on-court coordination doesn’t always translate off the court.

Plus, who inspired the 25-year-old to do the dab after defeating World No.1 Angelique Kerber Down Under?

Check out the full video right here on wtatennis.com!

LONDON, Great Britain – Francesca Schiavone has already struck gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, winning her seventh career title in the year’s first clay event at the Rio Open back in February. Despite dipping out of the Top 100, the former French Open champion was still expected to return to Brazil for the Olympic Games with a wildcard typically reserved for Grand Slam champions.

However, earlier today the Italian announced via her Facebook page that she won’t be wearing the Azzurri in Rio this year, deciding instead to give up the wildcard.

Here’s Schiavone’s statement, translated to English:

“Here at Wimbledon I have received notice of the wild card for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. It is news that has made me happy. However, I made a decision not to accept it because at this stage of my life, with the important decisions that are in front of me about the development of my career, I need to focus and prioritize my personal projects. This is why I won’t be in Rio. A choice that cost me but I’m proud to have worn the blue jersey in three editions of the Games. In August I will be in front of the television to cheer on all the Azzurri.“

The WTA veteran has been a fixture at the Olympics for the past 12 years, competing in the past three editions of the Games. Her best result came in the form of a run to the quarterfinals in Athens back in 2004. In the 2008 Games in Beijing she reached the third round while in 2012, when the Olympic tennis event was held at the All England Club, she made the second round.

Schiavone’s decision to give up her wildcard means that another spot has opened up for a player seeking to head to Brazil later this summer. In the meantime, click here to find out who has already qualified for Rio 2016.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Kristina Mladenovic continued her stunning run at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy with another shock victory, this time in the quarterfinal over the reigning champion, Roberta Vinci, 6-1 6-4.

The unseeded world No.51 continued with the approach that had seen off Venus Williams in the surprise of the second round. She tore into the 33-year-old’s serve in the first set, winning all three of the Italian’s service games. Facing set point at 30-40 in the final game, Vinci produced a wonderful drop shot down the line from deep in the court to take it to deuce, but Mladenovic was undeterred and came through for a 6-1 win.

A rocket of a return from @KikiMladenovic! @Formula_TX pic.twitter.com/2eXZkScAly

— WTA (@WTA) February 3, 2017

Vinci, facing Mladenovic for the first time since the 2015 US Open, faced break point once again at the start of the second set. This time, though, she proved more resilient and held for the first time in the match.

“Roberta is a big fighter,” said the 23-year-old of a more even second set, “and she is very smart on the court. She tried different tactics and almost turned it around in the second set. I’m happy I stayed calm and all the time responded with a game plan as well.”

The second serve increasingly proved key. Mladenovic won 50% of the points behind hers in contrast to 25% for Vinci and, although the French player served three double faults to her opponents’ one, it was that one that was crucial. A double fault from Vinci at 30-40 and 4-4 in the set gave the underdog the chance to serve for a meeting with Russia’s Natalia Vikhlyantseva in the last four.

Wonderfully delicate touch from @Roberta_Vinci! ? pic.twitter.com/LU8a5BBLaR

— WTA (@WTA) February 3, 2017

Mladenovic grew more aggressive, coming forward more with the win in sight. Serving at 5-4 she rushed too quickly to the net and gave up three break points. However she showed great composure to save all three. In a tense finale, the pair went to deuce four times before, at the third time of asking, Mladenovic converted match point with a top-spin heavy cross-court winner to qualify for her third career Premier semifinal.

“We played against each other last year in Hertogenbosch on grass and I won in three sets,” she said of Vikhlyantseva. “I discovered this young lady there for the first time and I thought she had an amazing great quality and game and potential for the future. I’m not surprised at her improvement and her ranking climbing up.”

Meanwhile the defeated champion said: “It was a difficult match, a tough match. Kiki played incredible tennis first set. In the second set I started to play much better than in the first – a bit more aggressive – I had some chances to break her, but she played too good. I played so so – this is tennis! I’m happy I managed to make it back to the quarter-final.”