From 2pm: follow the women's singles final live with us

Graphic: sister Act III: Williams girls take centre stage once more

Elena Dementieva did not say for certain that she would be watching the women's final today when Venus and Serena Williams whack balls at each other, but the probability is that she will find something more rewarding to do. Even Richard Williams, their father, has preferred to fly home to the United States rather than watch it live. The furore sparked by Dementieva's “family decision” comment on Thursday will reverberate through the formalities on Centre Court this afternoon and beyond.

Yes there was a backtracking of sorts when the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour realised that the world No5 had got herself and the sport into a political pickle. Chances are that the next time that Dementieva is asked anything about the Williams sisters, she would be best served to hold her tongue.

The final today may be a classic, but one would not wager too much on it. These meetings tend to be extremely awkward affairs: two players who have spent the previous fortnight living beneath the same roof, sharing as sisters can share, finding themselves in direct opposition. Remarkable that, when they were kids learning the rudiments of the game, their father did not allow them to play against each other.

Rick Macci was the head coach at his own tennis academy in Florida 15 years ago (still is), when he received a telephone call from someone he had not heard of who introduced himself as Richard Williams. The voice on the end of the phone asked if Macci could come to California to run his expert eye over his daughters. The coach recalls he used to get these kind of calls all the time from doting parents who might be a bit pushy, but there was something in Williams's manner - and someone else had alerted him to these sisters - that persuaded him to make the journey.

After an uncomfortable night in a hotel in Compton, Los Angeles, Macci was picked up by Richard at 7am in a battered camper van full of McDonald's wrappers and Coke cans, with two perky girls with beads in their hair occupying the back seats. Macci recalls that one of the springs in the passenger seat pinged during the journey and he almost had a life-changing experience. The destination was the Compton Country Club, where broken Budweiser bottles were strewn across the weed-ridden courts and people slept on benches or the grass. Richard, who had a part-time job as a cleaner at the local 7-Eleven, took a broom to the environs.

Before the session started, Venus asked her father if she could go to the toilet. As she made her way across the park, Venus stopped, performed four cartwheels, walked on her hands for a few yards and Macci's immediate thought was, “Wow, what an athlete.” Then he asked to see them hit together, but Richard said that he did not allow that. He relented, Macci saw the remarkable hand-eye co-ordination, the movement, the interaction - and he was smitten.

Macci's doctrine is that “behind every great champion in any sport is a driving force, and most of the time it is mum, dad, or both”. There could be no better example of that than the Williams clan. Although estranged, Richard and Oracene have played a full and loving part in their daughters' progress, so this afternoon represents a remarkable achievement. The progress of others and the vagaries of the draw system suggest that it may be the last time we see this particular match-up, so enjoy it if you can.

Venus has won the Wimbledon title four times, Serena twice, the second of those five years ago. Serena won the previous time they played, in Bangalore this year, 7-6 in the final set. Serena leads their personal head-to-head 8-7 because, when push comes to shove, she still finds it easier to beat Venus than Venus does beating her. But I favour Venus today.