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Thursday, July 17
Serena: We never discuss who'll win

WIMBLEDON, England -- Serena Williams says that when she plays her sister Venus -- and it's happening more often in Grand Slam finals -- there's no prior discussion about who will win.

"That's never happened in the past,'' Serena said after beating Belgian Els Callens 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) in a third-round match at Wimbledon. "We never discuss who's going to win. If so, I think that I should have at least won a few more Grand Slams than Venus. I mean, really. It took me forever to win another one.''

Earlier Friday, Jennifer Capriati said the sisters might not play as hard against each other as they do against other opponents. It's almost understandable, she said.

"I don't know how mentally you can just go out there and play against your blood,'' she said after a 6-4, 6-2 win over Daja Bedanova.

For a while, just up until a couple weeks ago, or months ago, she had this command on me. Every time we played, she would beat me. I think, for me, it was more mental to get over that hump.
Serena Williams

Serena was the first Williams to claim a Grand Slam title, winning the U.S. Open in 1999. She didn't win another until the French Open earlier this month.

The sisters have met in two of the past three Grand Slam finals and have won six of the last 11 major titles.

Still, Sister Slams have been anticlimactic.

Serena won the French Open earlier this month in a final that featured 101 combined unforced errors, 14 double faults and 13 breaks of service. Four games ended with double faults.

"Maybe that's nerves,'' Capriati said. "But the way they play their other matches, they don't really play that way against each other. That's what it seems like.''

Seeded first and second at Wimbledon, Venus and Serena could meet in the final, a prospect that Serena favors.

"I would like to see Venus do the best she could,'' Serena said. "I would never root against her. If anything, I'd rather play her in the finals over anyone else.''

She also admitted it was a tough thing to do.

"For a while, just up until a couple weeks ago, or months ago, she had this command on me,'' Serena said. "Every time we played, she would beat me. I think, for me, it was more mental to get over that hump.''

She has beaten Venus the last two times they played and improved to 3-5 against her sister.

Serena faces Chanda Rubin in the next round and planned to call her father, Richard, who's not at Wimbledon this year, to talk about her game.

"I would like to talk to him about the match and what I can do to improve because I don't feel that I'm playing well in this tournament at all,'' she said. "I'm missing too many first serves. I'm not converting my break points. Actually, I feel like going back out to practice today.''

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