Stop worrying folks. Unlike last year there are no last-minute pull-outs. It is gonna be a sister act at the Bangalore Open after all. The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, two of the biggest draws, have indeed arrived.
After landing in the early hours of Sunday, the sisters were out on court first thing in the morning, gearing up to wow the tennis fans in the Garden City with their magic on court. The only hiccup though is about the clash you all are dreaming of.

There is not going to be a Venus-Serena match-up in the final for sure, maybe they will cross paths a stage early.
Sadly, they have been drawn in the bottom half of the draw for the $600,000 Tier II WTA Tour event which gets under way at the KSLTA courts here on Monday.

Richard Williams’ heart must have skipped a beat when Serena was picked to join second-seeded Venus in the bottom half during the draw ceremony at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday afternoon. “Richard doesn't look too happy,” Indian legend Vijay Amritraj joked. The father of the two multiple Grand Slam champions didn’t show any emotions.

Outside of the Grand Slams, the two hardly play the same tournaments. They last played together at Charleston last year, but didn't run into each other. The last meeting between the two was at the US Open in 2005, where Venus came through in straight sets.

Venus, ranked eighth in the world, is seeded second behind Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic. Though the 23-year-old Serbian sensation has been given the top billing, the spotlight will certainly be on the Williams sisters, just for what they have done on the Tour in the last decade or so and what they are capable of.

With India sensation Sania Mirza giving the meet a skip for various reasons, the organisers will be hoping that the Williams sisters stay long enough to carry the tournament through. With the two not at their irrepressible best in recent times, it remains to be seen how their week pans out here.

To make matters worse, Venus doesn’t have the results to show for coming into this tournament, while Serena hasn’t played after the Australian Open due to a dental surgery. The 27-year-old Venus went out to an inspired Ana Ivanovic in the quarters at the Aussie Open and lost early in the two tournaments after that.

Certainly the last two defeats, especially the Memphis loss in the opener a couple of days ago to qualifier Petra Kvitova, should have the champion in a bit of a bother. In a quality field with a plethora of dangerous floaters, Venus will have her hands full. The reigning Wimbledon champion, given a bye in the first round, will take on the winner of the Shuai Peng and Anne Kremer clash in the second round.

Her first real test will come in the quarters against a former top-10 player and a player in-form, Vera Zvonareva. The Russian, on a comeback trail, reached the final at Doha before falling to compatriot Maria Sharapova. A hard hitter like Venus, Zvonareva has the game to turn the Bangalore villain.

If the six-time Grand Slam champion gets past the Zvonareva test, she will run into Serena. The number three seed has the dangerous Sybille Bammer to contend with in her quarter.

In the top half, Jankovic, Maria Kirilenko, Hungarian sensation Agnes Szavay and cool-as-cucumber Patty Schnyder are the ones to watch out for. It may not come as a surprise if the fourth-seeded Schnyder, who came in here four days ago to get used to the altitude and speed of the courts, goes all the way.

She did get used to the Bangalore heat on Sunday afternoon though! Schnyder and three others, including defending champion Yaroslava Shvedova, were made to sit out in the blazing sun for over an hour during the draw ceremony at the Raj Bhavan lawns.

As for the two Indians in the main draw, Shikha Uberoi takes on Szavay, while Isha Lakhani meets a qualifier.

BANGALORE OPEN 2008

*The seedings: Jelena Jankovic (Srb) 1; Venus Williams (US) 2; Serena Williams (US) 3; Patty Schnyder (Sui) 4; Agnes Szavay (Hun) 5; Sybille Bammer (Aut) 6; Vera Zvonareva (Rus) 7; Maria Kirilenko (Rus) 8. *Action today

Action today

Centre Court:

Not before 12.00 noon: Ayumi Norita/ Junri Namigata (Jpn) vs Ankita Bhambri/ Sanaa Bhambri (Ind).
Sybille Bammer (Aut) vs Akiko Morigami (Jpn).

Not before 5.00 pm: Yung-Jan Chan/ Chia-Jung Chuang (Tpe) vs Patty Schnyder/ Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Sui); Akgul Amanmuradova (Uzb) vs Yaroslava Shvedova (Rus); Shikha Uberoi (Ind) vs Agnes Szavay (Hun).

Court 1

Not before 12.00 noon: Aiko Nakamura (Jpn) vs Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thai); Vesna Manasieva/ Vera Zvonareva (Rus) vs Shuai Peng/ Tiantian Sun (Chn).