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TENNIS
French Open Tennis Championships

Serena, Venus Williams in familiar place in sister showdown

Nick McCarvel
Special for USA TODAY Sports
Serena, left, after beating Venus in the 2002 final.

WIMBLEDON, England — Like two sisters trading a secret diary, Venus and Serena Williams have been swapping tennis' history books back and forth for nearly two decades. Monday at Wimbledon, they'll carry a shared one onto Centre Court, foes there for the first time in six years.

Lately, the book has been stored in Serena's room, tucked on a shelf as she's etched her name into it more and more the last few years, a steady flow of chapters on Grand Slam titles, passages about weeks at No. 1 and stories of accolades coming from every corner of the sporting world.

It's the same book that sat on Venus' mantle, herself a five-time Wimbledon champion (just like Serena) and former world No. 1.

Since 2011, when Venus announced she was living with the autoimmune deficiency Sjogren's Syndrome, the writing of her story has been more about perseverance than it has been about records, titles or major triumphs.

But Monday that book comes back to Centre Court, and back to Venus and Serena. It's a moment when Serena, winner at both the Australian and French Opens so far this year, is more than halfway to a career-first calendar Grand Slam.

Does Venus interrupt history in this story?

"I take Venus very seriously against Serena," says Mary Carillo, the Tennis Channel analyst. "Venus beat her last summer in their most recent match. To me, this is the best place that Venus — like Roger Federer — the best place to win a major. This is clearly Venus' shot to win another Grand Slam."

The tennis season in 2015 has undoubtedly been about Serena, who at 33 won her 20th Grand Slam at the French Open a few weeks ago. She's been asked time and again about her quest for a calendar Slam.

It's an accomplishment that hasn't been achieved in men's or women's tennis since Steffi Graf did so 1988.

"I'm not answering any more questions about the Grand Slam," Serena said, putting a hand up in her press conference Friday after a dramatic three-set win over Heather Watson of Great Britain. "Or the alleged 'Serena Slam.'"

The Serena Slam is capturing four consecutive majors, something Williams is going for as well, having won at the U.S. Open last summer.

But on her way to perhaps making more history, Serena finds Venus across the net, a 35-year-old big sister with a game still to be reckoned with on grass.

Interruption of Serena's history means Venus writing more of her own. Can she do it?

"That's interesting," Venus said Friday after a third consecutive straight-set win here. "We just have to see what happens."

"It's unfortunate that it's so soon," said Serena, noting the fourth-round encounter, their earliest at a Slam since the 2005 U.S. Open. "She's my sister today, she's my sister next week and she's my sister next year. We'll leave everything out on the court. When it's done, we'll go back to regular life."

For now, regular life includes them doing battle on Monday, most likely on Centre Court.

"I think it will be a really good match," said Serena, who holds a 14-11 edge in their 25 matchups, five coming in London. "I'm practicing next to her every day and I'm in awe of how she's doing. It's a little frustrating because I know (now) I have to play her. I just don't know how I'm going to do, to be honest."

"You have to play the match," Venus said of facing her sister. "It doesn't matter who's across the net, you have to play, show up, compete and do your best. It doesn't change."

But the winner will change the course of history — in one way or the other. Which sister walks away with the history book in hand this time?

Follow Nick McCarvel on Twitter @NickMcCarvel.

PHOTOS: BEST OF WIMBLEDON 2015

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