Angst. That’s the only way to describe watching Serena and Venus Williams play each other in tennis.
Wherever you watched last night’s final of the 2017 Australian Open, you were witness to a moment in tennis that will be long remembered.
It’s unlikely anyone ever thought they’d see another Serena and Venus Williams Grand Slam Final but this is the retro edition of the Australian Open.
Last night’s women’s final of the 2017 Australian Open saw the sisters meet for the ninth time in a Grand Slam final. Venus has only won two of these encounters. She won their first Grand Slam Final at the 2001 US Open and the other Grand Slam Final victory over her younger sister was in the 2008 Wimbledon Final.
It wasn’t surprising then that Serena went in as the favourite and emerged the victor although Venus clearly had the support of the crowd.
But no matter what the result of last night’s match, there’s something about watching these sisters battle it out for Grand Slam glory that is unnerving.
Siblings playing the same sport isn’t unusual. Nor is it unusual for siblings to play the same sport but do so on opposing teams.
The difference with tennis is that it strips the protection of teammates and what we witness is a raw battle between two combatants.
Tennis is literally you and your competitor separated only by a net.
While I wouldn’t entirely agree with Andre Agassi that tennis is the loneliest of all sports, it is, though, an inherently individual sport and one where spectators pit themselves on a particular side and are steadfastly against the opponent of their preferred player.
Serena and Venus strip that all away.
That’s why watching them is like watching the personification of angst.
Most of last night’s crowd was cheering loudly, and much more loudly as the match went on, for Venus.
That’s because to be an Australian is to cheer for the underdog. It’s what we do. It’s part of our DNA.
But our passion for the under dog surely harks back to the days of the Colosseum and the Gladiators and in this respect tennis is a modern day gladiatorial sport.
Tonight’s clash with Roger Federer against Rafael Nadal will be couched in these gladiatorial terms.
It will be a clash between two modern legends of the sport and one where we will be engrossed in the battle being thrashed out before us.
But watching the Williams sisters just isn’t the same.
The opening service games were a repetition of breaks of serve. It almost seemed like neither sister wanted to hold serve.
The match was played with a muted passion.
There was the odd, quiet fist pump from Serena.
There was only one challenge.
However, there was a palpable love and respect on the tennis court between the sisters.
It was particularly evident in Serena signaling her appreciation for her sister’s winning groundstrokes.
But when we watch the Williams sisters play tennis it is akin to asking our own parents which child they love the most and hoping it is we they choose.
Because in the back of our minds when watching the Williams sisters is the question of who are their parents supporting and how do they celebrate with the winner and console the loser?
This forces us to go into some of the deepest and darkest recesses of our minds when we watch two siblings battle it out for our amusement.
Equally, many of us watching on the tennis sidelines find it hard to imagine just how they face each other when many of us may question if we could compete against our siblings and come out the other end with the love and respect the Williams sisters have for each other.
It is through this we see that sport more than entertains us. It forces us to think about our values.
Watching the Williams sisters is often an experience filled with angst and anxious moments but watching them can also give us hope that no matter what battles we have with our own families, our love for each other will prevail.
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