Black Tennis Pros

Dubai, UAE, 14th February 2009: Dubai could witness an all-Williams semifinal showdown after world number one Serena and her sister Venus were drawn in the same half of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships today.

The two have not gone head to head in Dubai before, but there’s a long way to go before a potential semifinal clash at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.

Both sisters have been handed byes in the first round and Serena will then meet the winner of Yung-Jan Chan v Sara Errani in round two, while Venus will come up against the winner of the match between Maria Kirilenko and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round.

Venus was present at the tournament draw which took place at the Aviation Club today and was joined by 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, who will come up against Japan’s Ai Sugiyama in the first round.

“I’m already enjoying being here. This is an exciting tournament, one of the largest events on the tour, and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a really tough field again and I’m ready to play,” said Williams after the draw.

As for being drawn in the same half as her sister, she joked: “Well, she’s number one in the world right now and her last name is Williams so people could confuse us and think I’m number one. I hope we do play each other.”

The sensational sisters form part of an incredible lineup for this year’s Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships which includes all the top-ranked women’s players in the world.