Go Venus!

Yesterday, Venus Williams, attacking like the warrior she used to be, finally broke her losing streak with her sister Serena, defeating her in straight sets (6-1, 7-6) in the quarterfinals of the Nasdaq-100. Serena, who was trying for her 4th straight Nasdaq-100 championship, will not be facing her newest rival, Maria Sharapova, but there will still be a Williams-Sharapova semifinal.

Venus came very close to playing Elena Likhovtseva in the quarters. Likhovtseva met Serena in the round of 16, and outplayed her in 3 sets, using her doubles skills, a slow pace, and steady, accurate shots to confound the defending champion. But then, at the last minute, Serena did that thing she does--pulled incredible shots out of nowhere and waited for her opponent to choke, which she did, in the next to last game.

Venus ran over Serena in the first set, but then Serena found her game, and what ensued was undoubtedly the best set ever played by the sisters, whose Grand Slam finals tended to be boring events. Venus had not defeated Serena since the 2001 U.S. Open finals. After that, Serena reversed their pecking order and made herself one of the all-time greats of women's tennis.

Constantly faced with questions about whether she would ever move to the very top again, Venus has always said that she would. Yesterday's match may have been some kind of turning point. There are so many great players on the women's tour right now that anything goes.