Scattered seeds leave sisters in command

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F VENUS and Serena Williams ever get to arrange a benefit tournament for themselves, the script will bear a close resemblance to what has happened over the first six days of Wimbledon. One by one, the American sisters' leading rivals have either been eliminated from the tournament or picked up injuries, to the extent that there now seems little to stand in the way of a Williams versus Williams final in five days' time. Maria Sh

arapova, the No3 seed, lost in the second round. Ana Ivanovic, the No1, scraped through at that stage only to lose a round later. Then things got better still for Serena and Venus on Saturday when Dinara Safina, one of the few players to come close to matching their physical power, lost to Shahar Peer of Israel, and Jelena Jankovic, the No2, progressed to the fourth round but only after sustaining a knee injury which threatens to be a serious handicap.

Sharapova's elimination, Serena's third-round win over 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo and the injury- enforced withdrawal of Lindsay Davenport combine to mean there are now only two women left in the last 32 who know what it takes to win a Wimbledon singles title. No prizes for guessing they share a surname.

Venus and Serena have shown they are capable of defeating themselves by becoming distracted or suddenly, and inexplicably, throwing in a poor performance. That may not yet be the only way in which they can fail to take another title, but it is already the most probable.

In the top half of the draw, Serena, the No6 seed, should win in straight sets today against Bethanie Mattek, her fellow American. Mattek has surpassed herself to get this far, and, in the third round, profited from the shoulder injury which prevented last year's runner-up, Marion Bartoli, from playing anywhere close to her best. She does not have the game to challenge the former champion.

The younger Williams' quarter-final opponent will be either Svetlana Kuznetsova, the No4 seed, or Agnieszka Radwanska, the No14. The winner of the US Open four years ago, and three times a quarter-finalist here, Kuznetsova's strength is her strength. Her weakness is the lack of variety in her game, and that could be exploited by Radwanska, who – win or lose – will be in the top ten next week. Either way, Serena will not be anxiously scanning the results to find out who she meets in the last eight or semi-finals. Nor will her sister.

Venus, the defending champion and seventh seed, faces Alisa Kleybanova of Russia today. Kleybanova, an 18-year-old who is not long in the world top 50, has fared well in her first Wimbledon and is one of a group of Russians who threaten to take a stranglehold on the women's game. For the moment, though, she lacks the firepower to take on the four-time champion.

The scheduled quarter-final match-up between Venus and Jankovic had promised to be one of the best matches in the women's singles, but the Serbian player's injury now makes that a lot less likely, for two reasons. One, she may not even get there – Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, whom she plays today, is in the fourth round for the seventh time and has the ability to give a below-par opponent the runaround on grass. Two, even if Jankovic does get the better of Tanasugarn, she will surely not be in any fit state to take on Venus. A round further on, Elena Dementieva is the likeliest candidate to be standing between Venus and another final. The Russian, seeded fifth, reached the quarter-finals two years ago, but will have to punch well above her weight to cause an upset. So Williams versus Williams it will be then, for the third time. On both of the previous two occasions, in 2002 and 2003, Serena came out on top.

The first year there was barely a whimper of resistance from Venus as her sister won 7-6, 6-3, but in 2003 both players put in maximum effort, with Serena being required to come from a set down. It would be unwise to bet against her completing the hat-trick.