Why The Worst Of Wimbledon Is Still To Come For Serena Williams

— -- LONDON -- Serena Williams looked into the abyss of Wimbledon's Centre Court heartbreak Friday, into her very psyche and the raw fear of failure that no one but the greatest can understand, and persevered to face a scenario she might dread even more.

Such is the level of angst that exists for a woman pursuing both tennis history and a sibling rivalry that inspires and tortures her at the same time.

Mere seconds after walking off the court following her harrowing 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Great Britain's Heather Watson on a challenge and her third match point, Serena gave her sister Venus the upper hand in their upcoming fourth-round showdown.

"She's in better form than I am, so think she has a little bit of an advantage going into that match," Serena said. [But] at least one of us will be in the quarterfinals."

Initially Friday, it seemed the only suspense was which Williams sister would take care of third-round business first, Venus racing toward her 6-3, 6-2 victory over Aleksandra Krunic and Serena whipping through her first set against Watson in just 25 minutes.

But this round went to Venus, who finished up in 1 hour, 11 minutes, a good hour before her kid sister. And now it is left to both to eliminate the other.

Serena versus Venus has been a lot of things over the course of their 17-year, 25-match series. Seldom pleasant for the participants, highly anticipated for observers. This next one is perhaps the most interesting and most awkward of them all.

This will be the 13th time they meet in a Grand Slam tournament, the first Slam in six years (Serena won the 2009 Wimbledon final) and the first Williams-Williams match anywhere since last summer, when Venus won a semifinal in Montreal.

With a possible Serena Slam here and Grand Slam later at stake, there is no room for fooling around if you're Serena. No time for nerves to bury the first set (or the second and nearly the third, as was the case Friday).

It's not worth the risk of getting into a hole only to fist-pump and "Come on" herself to victory, as has become her trademark.

Interestingly, that is partly because while little sister has grimaced and discreetly fist-pumped when the two meet, it is a largely quiet affair, their tension nearly palpable as they have careened through the series currently 14-11 in Serena's favor (7-5 in Grand Slams).

Two of the greatest champions the sport has seen have produced nerve-filled tennis, inspired tennis and sometimes tear-filled tennis. It has been held up to scrutiny that has questioned the integrity of both. And more than anything, it has left us wanting more.

Even with two days off before their Monday match, will Serena be so emotionally spent that she does not have enough to fight off her resurgent big sister? Venus reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in five years at the 2015 Australian Open. Now she's back playing for another.

Speaking of her big sister Friday night, Serena sounded awestruck.

"I think it will be a really good match," she said. "I don't know. She's playing so well. I'm practicing next to her every day, and I'm in awe of how she's doing. It's a little frustrating because I know I have to play her. I just don't know how I'm going to do, to be honest.

"Worst-case scenario, I don't do well. I'll just try to keep moving ahead. [I] did better than last year [when she lost in the third round], so I guess it's a step in the right direction."

Serena admitted to letting negativity sometimes overwhelm her and revealed that during the Watson match, her mind wandered.

"I was thinking, 'Well, [I'm] going to find a dance class [Saturday], hang around to watch Venus play.' That was kind of going through my mind," Serena said.

And yet, she obviously survived against Watson, and said she is mentally stronger than ever.

"I think this is a match I would have lost last year or the year before ..." Serena said. "I just feel like mentally, if it's possible, [I'm] so much stronger. ...The older I get, I think the tougher I get upstairs. ... Maybe this time next year I'll be probably even stronger."

A look at their head-to-heads makes it easy to conclude that the sisters have had some great battles. Ten times in 25 matches they have gone three sets, including that most recent meeting in Montreal.

But Serena leads in finals 8-3 and has won five of their past six encounters.

Of those really paying attention, some say the 2008 semifinals of a minor WTA event in Bangalore, India, was the highest-quality tennis in the series, with Venus breaking Serena at 5-4 in the third and Serena fighting off match points in the tiebreak.

Others point to the US Open quarters later that year that Serena won 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7), the 2009 Dubai semis that Venus won, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (3), or the WTA Finals that same year that Serena won 6-2, 7-6 (4).

That 2008 US Open matchup was an interesting one, a sloppy, seemingly nerve-filled first set with seven combined double faults. Serena was down 5-3 in both sets and 6-4 in the first tiebreak, facing 10 set points in all and advancing to the semifinals for the first time in six years.

But they are different players now, different people.

While Serena, at 33, is still in top form as the greatest player in the history of the game, Venus, at 35, is on the downside of a great career, four years past her diagnosis of an auto-immune disease that includes joint pain and fatigue among its symptoms.

Although a Venus victory would no doubt be the product of a dramatic and well-played match, it would also surely be the result of Serena facing down her own worst enemy once again -- and this time losing.

It has always been Serena versus Serena before anyone else. It is more the case today than ever before. She denied that playing her sister adds an emotional component, just as she denied comment on the Serena Slam and Grand Slam.

"Only thing for me is I'm playing the toughest player I've played in women's tennis," she said. "That's never fun."

After facing seemingly all of Great Britain rooting against her when she faced Watson on Friday, Serena predicted they would be rooting for Venus on Monday.

"I would be rooting for Venus," she said. "I mean, she's been through so much. She's had a wonderful story. She's been so inspiring to me. You know, she's just an incredible individual."

Venus laughed, saying she would be cheering for her sister.

"There's no such thing as giving up for me in my life," Venus said. "But also for her. She's been through so much. The awesome part is, no matter what she's been through, she's never complained. You see players that continue to talk about injuries that are like nine thousand years old. She never complained once. You have to give her credit for that. She's gone through so much that no one could even imagine."

They have five Wimbledon titles apiece, some of their greatest triumphs in the same arena in which they will battle each other Monday. And they find it just as compelling as the rest of us.

"It's definitely interesting, that's for sure," Venus said. "So we just have to see what happens. Honestly, it's interesting."

No great introspection. No psychoanalysis.

"I think everybody's always looking for some answer, and it really is you have to play the match," Venus said. "It doesn't matter who's across the net, you have to play, show up, compete, do your best, and it doesn't change."

Serena had just one promise.

"We're going to do the best that we can," Serena said. "She's my sister today. She's my sister next week. She's my sister next year. I think that's a little more important than a match.

"We'll leave everything out on the court. [And] when it's done, we'll go back to regular life."

No doubt with relief that it's over.