Williams sisters to meet in Miami semifinals

Serena Williams set up a semifinal showdown with her elder sister Venus by routing former world number one Martina Hingis 6-4, 6-0 at the Nasdaq-100 Open Masters on Wednesday.

The other semifinal will be between current world number one and Australian Open champion Jennifer Capriati, who finally clicked into top gear with a 6-2, 6-0 demolition of Russian Tatiana Panova, and 1990 Miami champion Monica Seles.

Fifth seed Seles made sure that both semifinals would be all-American affairs when she rallied to beat fourth seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

When the Williams sisters step onto the court on Thursday it will mark the eighth time, but first since last year's U.S. Open final, that tennis's most famous siblings have met each other in a tournament.

Wimbledon, U.S. Open and defending Miami champion Venus holds a decisive 5-1 lead. The sisters were also due to meet in last year's Indian Wells final but Venus pulled out at the last second with an injury.

The cheque went to Serena after a walkover but the WTA Tour does not count such results in the head-to-heads, leaving the younger Williams with just one success over her big sister, in the final of the 1999 Grand Slam Cup.

"For sure," said Serena when asked if she was looking forward to the match. "We've been practising hard and at least one of us is going to go on to the next round.

"One of us is going to be in the final for three years in a row. That's a guarantee so we're both really excited. I'm just really ready to compete.

"I'm just trying to win the title, I need the points, I need the title. She needs the points because she won here last year.

"So we both have good reason to go out there and fight as hard as we can."

VENUS AIM

Venus, already the winner of three events this season, needs a victory over her sister if she is to reclaim the world number one ranking she surrendered to Capriati last week.

Venus is riding a 24-match winning streak on the Miami hardcourts that includes three consecutive titles in 1998, 1999 and last year. She missed the 2000 event due to injury.

"I guess I've just picked one tournament I'm going to win always and it just happens to be this one," said Venus. "But Serena hates to lose, no matter who it is."

Although Hingis and Serena went into the quarter-final having split their 12 career meetings, Williams is starting to dominate their rivalry having now swept the last three contests.

Hingis once again had no answer to Williams's sheer power, the eighth seed blowing her off the court in 59 minutes.

"I'm playing very well," said Williams. "I'm on a little winning streak. I think Venus and I have played each other enough. I think after the first time it was enough for me."

After struggling through tough three set matches in the third and fourth rounds, Capriati needed just 56 minutes on a sunbaked centre court to dispose of Panova.

Approaching the boiling conditions she faced in the Australian Open final, Capriati was at her dominant best. She broke Panova to take the opening set and then swept through the next six games, finishing the match without facing a break point.

"I'm happy with the way I'm playing," said Capriati. "I was able to get through the first three matches that were pretty difficult.

"My opponents played well and I was able to get through. Today it showed that I'm playing a lot better and I'm getting into a better rhythm."