Tennis Superstar Sisters Venus and Serena Williams Make It to Wimbledon Semifinals

— -- It’s been 7 years since Venus and Serena Williams both made it to the Wimbledon semifinals, but the superstar sister act is back in the semifinals of the women's singles.

The sisters have also advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles competition.

The two took very different paths to arrive here.

Serena’s was a rougher road. In the first week of the competition the 34-year-old was fined $10,000 for slamming and tossing her racket, but the six-time Wimbledon winner has been all business ever since.

Serena’s sister, Venus, has been the talk of the tournament. At 36, she’s the oldest player in the women’s draw and has beaten two players who were nearly half her age.

Many wrote off the five-time Wimbledon champion after she was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease that causes fatigue and joint pain, but she has defied her doubters and is now back on center court for her ninth Wimbledon semifinal and her 19th overall appearance at the tournament.

“The semifinals feels good,” Venus said with a laugh at a press conference on Tuesday.

Serena described her sister and doubles partner as “a real fighter."

“Like I’ve always said, its super-inspiring for me,” Serena said.

While the sisters are rivals on the court, they’ve always had been each other’s biggest supporters off it.

“I always want her to go out there and play her best match and not necessarily how I would play so we try to find that balance of supporting each other but not brainwashing each other,” Venus said.

Venus defeated Serena in the 2000 semifinals en route to her first title and again in the 2008 final. Serena has beaten Venus in the 2002, `03 and '09 finals, and in the fourth round last year, according to ESPN.