Serena Williams vs Venus Williams Betting Preview, Saturday 9th August

Venus will struggle against her sister's power

A year has passed since the last clash between the Williams sisters but as their sibling rivalry is about to be renewed, Abelson Info preview their meeting in Montreal...

Serena Williams was given a thorough test on Friday as she was forced to dig deep and battle past Caroline Wozniacki in three sets.

The Dane put herself in a great position to win the match leading by a set and a break, but ultimately, the world number one's class came through as she refused to admit defeat.

Her reward is a meeting with sister and fellow WTA legend Venus Williams, with the veteran continuing her resurgence with a breakthrough week in Canada.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one has had an impressive week in beating the likes of Kerber and Navarro, and the 34-year-old is undoubtedly enjoying a renaissance of sort given her ability to make some decent runs in tournaments this year.

Venus has insisted that she hopes she doesn't have to play the "match of my life" in order to beat her sister, but she is all too aware of the fact that she will need to play near her best to have a chance of upsetting the odds.

History does suggest that she has the ability to cope with Serena's game better than any other player on the tour, with this being their 25th meeting, the younger Williams sister currently leads their head-to-head record 14-10.

However, you have to go back to Dubai in 2009 for Venus' last victory between the pair, with Serena winning five consecutive matches since as the balance of power shifted within the family.

Nevertheless, on paper given Venus' current form and her ability to compete with her sister, this should be an intriguing clash, yet there is something to suggest that Serena will likely enjoy the lion's share of their exchanges if her elder sister isn't capable of limiting her errors.

In the other semi-final, Agnieszka Radwanska faces Ekaterina Makarova, with the latter entering relatively unchartered territory at this level.

Having dispatched of former champion Petra Kvitova already this week, the Russian ace will fancy her chances of capping off a memorable run in Montreal and going one step further to reach the final.

However, standing in her way is Radwanska, who will likely be on a revenge mission given that although she leads her rival 3-2 in their head-to-head record, Makarova has dumped her out of both the US Open and Wimbledon in their last two meetings respectively.

Radwanska's performance against Victoria Azarenka gives her the edge after she hit just four unforced errors compared to 14 winners, and if she demonstrates that level of consistency again coupled with her angles and delicate shot-making, Makarova could be in for a difficult night's work.

Recommended Bets:
Back Radwanska to beat Makarova 2-0 @ 2.3211/8
Back Serena Williams to beat Venus Williams 2-0 @ 1.738/11