Serena, Venus win French semis

PARIS -- The French Open women's final will be an all-in-the-family affair. It's Williams vs. Williams for a Grand Slam title. Again.

Venus Williams overpowered unseeded Clarisa Fernandez 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals Thursday, right after her little sister, Serena, rallied to beat defending champion Jennifer Capriati 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 at Roland Garros.

It will be the second meeting of the siblings for a Grand Slam title in nine months. Venus beat Serena 6-2, 6-4 at last year's U.S. Open.

"I want to win the French Open and I'm sure she does, too," Serena said. "We go out there, it's just another match for us. Just obviously a tougher opponent. But that's about it."

Serena's fifth straight win over Capriati also means she will take over the No. 2 spot, right behind Venus when the rankings are released next week. They will become the first siblings to hold the two top spots.

"This makes it all the more sweeter to be No. 1 and No. 2 and also to be in the final," Venus said.

"More than anything, it just means we've reached the best of our profession. ... Actually, I'd like to stay No. 1, but I'd like to see Serena No. 1, also. I'm not giving it up, but I'm sure she'll get there."

Venus broke Fernandez's serve four times in a 19-minute first set. She survived a momentary lapse after building a 5-2 lead in the second, finally winning with a backhand down the line to end the 56-minute match.

After losing the first set, Serena had a 5-2 lead in the second before Capriati broke twice and won four straight games.

Serena then held her serve at love and won the tiebreaker's final four points, clinching it on Capriati's double fault.

The third set was on serve until the sixth game when Capriati handed over a break by missing a drop shot on the 20th stroke of a rally. That gave Serena a 4-2 lead.

"She definitely played a lot better toward the end and that was the difference," Capriati said. "I think I probably got a little bit tired in the third set."

On the men's side, Andre Agassi's quest for another French Open title ended in a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the continuation of a match halted Wednesday by rain.

"The guy has a big game, he's hard to stop. I'd have to put him as the favorite at this point," Agassi said after Ferrero advanced to his third straight semifinal at Roland Garros.

The key to the match: Agassi's 87 unforced errors to 71 for the hard-hitting Ferrero, who at 22 is 10 years younger.

"I'm not a gazelle out there running down shots one after another," Agassi said.

"Heavy conditions favor the guy who moves better and gets more off his racket. And on this surface, it's in Ferrero's hands."

Ferrero will meet Marat Safin in the semifinals. No. 2-seeded Safin easily beat Sebastien Grosjean 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and has now made at least the semifinals of the last three Grand Slam tournaments.

With the third set tied at 5-5, Agassi squandered three break points in the 11th game. Ferrero then broke to win the set when Agassi hit a backhand wide, double-faulted and sailed a forehand long on the final three points.

Agassi's frustrations began to show in the fourth when the 1999 French Open champ let out a primal scream after one error and mocked one of his own errant shots with a curtsy.

Trailing 5-1, he broke and held before Ferrero served out the victory to make the semifinals for a third straight year.

"I used to watch him on television when he played Sampras," Ferrero said of Agassi. "One day I hoped to play against him. The time finally came."

Alex Corretja also advanced to the semifinals Thursday, completing a 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-5 victory over a weary Andrei Pavel, who drove to Germany and back to be with his wife as she gave birth to their son.

Corretja will meet Albert Costa, meaning there are three Spanish semifinalists.