Serena Williams

London: You might as well try to describe the colour of infinity as analyse a Grand Slam tournament final between the Williams sisters.

Of all the remarkable elements connected to Saturday’s showpiece, one of the most disconcerting is how Venus and Serena calmly handle the ultimate dilemma; to love and respect your sibling but want to defeat them while the world watches.

Would it not be all so much easier if they did not face each other? Apparently not. “I definitely wanted her to win,” Venus, 29, said after her younger sister’s semi-final victory over Elena Dementieva, of Russia. “It’s like if she didn’t win or if I didn’t win, then the dream doesn’t come true that we’re both playing in the final. So I definitely want to play against her.”

Serena, 27, said: “The more we play, the better it gets. This is what we dreamt of when we were growing up. I wanted her to win and she wanted me to win.”

It has all come down to a fascinating encounter. This will be the fourth time that they have met in a Wimbledon final, but, perhaps more significantly, neither has the edge.

In 20 meetings, they have each won 10 times, which in Serena’s words make Saturday’s final “super-intense”. Venus said: “It will be a tipping-point match. I do like to be ahead, even though she’s my sister.”

Venus Williams

After their 6-1, 6-2 victory over Cara Black and Liezel Huber Friday to reach the women’s doubles final — which they contest Saturday, a few hours after their singles final — the Williams sisters were icily dismissive of questions about how their relationship alters as they prepare for meeting in a final.

That might imply that they are having some difficulty coping, but in fact they are merely bored with the assumption that they struggle with the dilemma. It was patently clear that their relationship does not need to be somehow put on hold — as the questions flooded in about the craziness of facing a sibling, they would turn and grin at each other and giggle at the same moment.

But how does it work? How do they want the best for each other, to see the other win and then suddenly want to inflict a defeat?

Venus said it is “real easy” to separate the concepts of sister and rival “when you get a serve at about 127mph and it comes back as a winner. You soon realise you’re playing against an awesome player and you better really get ready. So that’s exactly when you separate it.”

The dilemma does exist, however, for Richard, their father, who will not be watching Saturday.

“Serena didn’t play well,” he admitted after her three-set victory over Dementieva on Thursday.

Venus said of her sister: “I know that she’s there for me ... even if we’re 10,000 miles apart.”

Saturday they will be on the same court and, albeit briefly, very apart.

Road to final

Serena Williams (2, US)

• Rd 1: Bt Neuza Silva (Por) 6-1, 7-5
• Rd 2: Bt Jarmila Groth (Aus) 6-2, 6-1
• Rd 3: Bt Roberta Vinci (Ita) 6-3, 6-4
• Rd 4: Bt Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) 6-3, 6-1
• Quarter final: Bt Victoria Azarenka (8, Blr) 6-2, 6-3
• Semi-final: Bt Elena Dementieva (4, Rus) 6-7(4-7), 7-5, 8-6

Venus Williams (3, US)

• Rd 1: Bt Stefanie Voegele (Sui) 6-3, 6-2
• Rd 2: Bt Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukr) 6-3, 6-2
• Rd 3: Bt Carla Suarez Navarro (Esp) 6-0, 6-4
• Rd 4: Bt Ana Ivanovic (13, Srb) 6-1, 0-1 (Ivanovic retired)
• Quarter final: Bt Agnieszka Radwanska (11, Pol) 6-1, 6-2
• Semi-final: Bt Dinara Safina (1, Rus) 6-1, 6-0

Day X Results

Women’s singles, Semi-finals — Venus Williams (3, US) bt Dinara Safina (1, Rus) 6-1, 6-0; Serena Williams (2, US) bt Elena Dementieva (4, Rus) 6-7(4-7), 7-5, 8-6
Men’s doubles, Semi-finals — Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic (2, Can/Srb) bt James Blake/Mardy Fish (US) 5-7, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(7-3), 10-8; Bob Bryan/ Mike Bryan (1, US) bt Wesley Moodie/ Dick Norman (9, RSA/Bel) 7-6(7-4), 7-6(7-3), 6-4
Mixed doubles, Quarter finals — Mark Knowles/ Anna-Lena Groenefeld (9, Bah/Ger) bt Bob Bryan/ Samantha Stosur (2, US/ Aus) 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 Leander Paes/ Cara Black (1, Ind/ Zim) bt Andre Sa/ Ai Sugiyama (11, Bra/ Jpn) 6-3, 6-3; Stephen Huss/ Virginia Ruano Pascual (12, Aus/ Esp) bt Kevin Ullyett/ Hsieh Su-wei (4, Zim/ Tpe) 6-3, 5-7, 9-7