Venus v Serena: A look at tennis' greatest sibling rivalry ahead of a ninth Grand Slam final meeting

There was plenty of room for sentiment on Thursday as the Williams sisters set up a ninth Grand Slam final meeting – a feat eclipsed only by Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who met in 14 finals between 1975 and 1986.

However, come Saturday’s final in Melbourne, the pair will be intent on finishing this captivating tournament as champion. And history tells us, it’s already advantage Serena…

It was the second round of the 1998 Australian Open when Venus first played Serena in a professional match.

A 17-year-old Venus proved too strong for Serena, beating the then 16-year-old 7-6 6-1 en route to the quarter-final, where she lost to fellow American and world number two, Lindsay Davenport.

Unsurprisingly, that was the first and last second-round meeting between the duo. Even as teenagers they were destined for bigger things. A semi-final clash at Wimbledon in 2000 – won by Venus – was followed by their first Grand Slam final match-up at the US Open.

Again Venus came out on top in straight sets to claim her fourth of seven Grand Slam titles, but the tides were about to change...

Heading into 2002, Venus led the head-to-head 5-2, but then the pair met in a remarkable four consecutive Grand Slam finals, starting with the French Open.

Serena beat her older sister 7-5 6-3 to pick up her first title in Paris, and went on to beat Venus at Wimbledon at the US – and then in Australia the following year.

Another final win for Serena at Wimbledon followed, and having won her sixth Grand Slam by the age of 22 it was clear that this was a tennis player heading for the top of the record books.

Many had given up on another Venus-Serena meeting come the late 2000s. Serena, who admitted to suffering with depression in her biography, slipped to 95 in the world at the end of 2006, while injuries saw Venus drop to 45 in that same year.

But a remarkable return to form for both saw them face-off in the 2008 Wimbledon final. And defending champion Venus won in straight sets to claim her seventh, and most recent, Grand Slam title.

Another year brought another Williams final at Wimbledon in 2009 – but this time it was Serena’s day, as she notched up her third title at SW19.

Few predicted their Wimbledon '08 and '09 meetings, but no one saw a final match-up coming in 2017, especially after Venus was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome back in 2011.

But a steady rise up the rankings since culminates with Saturday’s meeting against sister Serena. Will this be the perfect fairytale ending for Venus? Or can we expect another string of meetings in the next year or two? The pair are defying both age and belief, so let’s rule nothing out.