Venus and Serena Williams: Sisters on a Mission in Melbourne

The fourth round showcased some good ol' fashioned gridiron tennis.

Two of those matches featured No. 1 seed Serena Williams and No. 6 seed Venus Williams—more commonly referred to simply as the Williams sisters.

During fourth round action, Venus and Serena made it explicitly clear that they not only shared a sisterhood; they also shared a common goal—winning in Melbourne.

Here's a recap...

No. 6 Venus Williams vs. No. 17 Francesca Schiavone

This match pitted two of the older players in terms of tennis years (both are 29) against each other. But don't let their ages fool you; it had no impact on their ability to play great tennis.

The first set belonged to Francesca for the most part. She played well and was able to capitalize on little mistakes by Venus. Venus simply could not find that place of comfort on the court. Francesca took the first set, 6-3.

However, the second set was a different story. As Venus has shown time and time again, never count her out after a few missteps—after all, she's human.

Venus found her stride. She was serving better, maneuvering around the court better, and returning better. Venus also really started showcasing her strength in playing the net. Though Schiavone continued playing her best, it simply was not enough to counter Venus. The set belonged to Venus, and she won it, 6-2.

The third set found Venus completely back in her comfort zone. She was in control from the start of this set. She coasted to a 6-1 victory.

Final stats summed up how well Venus played. She had 12 winners to only five unforced errors, and she had 26 of 32 net points.

Venus will make her seventh appearance in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. She will be going up against No. 16 seed Li Na.

No. 1 Serena Williams vs. No. 13 Samantha Stosur

Going into this match, Serena knew four things—Samantha was regarded as one of the best servers in tennis, Samantha handed her a defeat in 2009, she had to beat Samantha in order to maintain her No. 1 status, and they would be playing in front of Samantha's home crowd.

Speaking of home crowd, Rod Laver Arena was packed inside and outside. Fans, no doubt, were hoping to see a possible upset on their quest to see one of their own win it all. As you may recall, one opportunity came to an abrupt end in an earlier match thanks to none other than big sister Venus, who defeated native daughter Casey Dellacqua.

But Serena came well prepared—both mentally and physically.

Time says it all for the first set. It only took 34 minutes for Serena to put this set in her win column.

This is not to say that it was not a well-played set—it was. Samantha proved that she is an excellent server and good player. She was even able to break Serena's record of limiting her opponents so far to only three points a set. Samantha scored four. But despite playing well and the aforementioned accomplishment, she could not stop Serena.

Serena went on to win, 6-4. She finished with 12 winners, only six unforced errors, and seven of eight at the net.

The second set took a little longer, but it was basically a repeat of the first. Once again, though Samantha played hard, she simply could not outplay Serena. Serena dominated every aspect of play—the serve (first and second), the net, etc. Serena was focused.

A very special highlight of Serena's performance was when she was serving for match point. She began with her ninth ace and captured the win with her 10th.

Final stats on Serena included 12 of 13 net points, 30 winners, and only 14 unforced errors.

Serena will now face No. 7 seed Victoria Azarenka. Victoria defeated No. 9 seed Vera Zvonareva.

The world watches as the Williams sisters continue to work toward their shared mission of winning in Melbourne.