Venus and Serena Williams are intent on conquering the world of tennis. They are making steady, if brash, progress - talking a good game and always upping the ante.
Venus recently entered into a verbal skirmish with John McEnroe about the merits of their game which they believe they have brought to a new level. Acrimonious exchanges with McEnroe are always good for business.
At the heart of what the Williams' are saying is a central truth and if form persists it will become apparent when the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, begins in Melbourne on Monday.
While the wily Martina Hingis has been seeded at number one and American Lindsay Davenport at two, the sisters have a habit of setting themselves up as magnets for animosity and then using it to very positive effect.
Venus, the Wimbledon, US Open and Olympic Champion and Melbourne's third seed, has clearly had a better year 2000 than her younger sister, who was, importantly, beaten by Hingis during the week.
Hingis took just 102 minutes to beat Serena two days after she had teamed up with fourth-seed Monica Seles to dent family pride by knocking Serena and older Venus out of the doubles.
Hingis has not won a singles grand slam title since the 1999 Australian Open but said her win over Serena had given her a psychological boost heading into Melbourne.
"I was never really scared of playing them," Hingis said. "A lot of girls are already intimidated just going on to the court, but I'm the number one player. I have to defend my position so I shouldn't be scared of anything."
Serena, who upset Hingis to win the 1999 US Open final, was playing only her third match since October and was using the Sydney event as a warm-up for this week. "I was a little bit rusty, so I'm doing pretty good considering," she said. "I should definitely be ready next week."
Davenport also expended little energy before she was lined up to play the powerful French hope Amelie Mauresmo. Mauresmo beat Davenport in last year's Sydney final but failed to win another title all year as she struggled with back pain. The nagging problem throws her Australian Open plans into chaos but said she remained optimistic of playing.
Belgian Kim Clijsters seeded 15 makes her Grand Slam seeding debut while semi-finalist last year Jennifer Capriati seeded at 12 makes a welcome return to a seeding position. Over all, it's a new year with the usual suspects lining up. Watch Hingis.
By virtue of defeating Andre Agassi in the last match of 2000 at the Tennis Masters, Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten, the first ever Brazilian number one seed at a Grand Slam, will be a popular favourite even amongst the home boys of Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt.
US Open champion Marat Safin has a serious injury and can be discounted if he does not pull out before the competition begins, while Pete Sampras, in decline, is still seeded three. Magnus Norman raised his head at the 2001 French Open, falling to Guga, while last year's runner-up Yevgeny Kafelnikov has the protection of being seeded fifth.
Andre Agassi, last year's winner and quiet now for some time, has a reputation for raising his game when the majors arrive. He has said that his body has to carefully measure the tennis season. Like Sampras, he's in his twilight years making Guga look good for his second Grand Slam.
