Before Serena and Venus -- the two top women's tennis players in world -- were scheduled to face off for the singles crown, the sisters went to work and took home their sixth Grand Slam doubles title on Friday.
The top-ranked doubles team defeated No. 2 Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain and Paola Suarez of Argentina 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, surprise German Rainer Schuettler booked a date against No. 2 seed Andre Agassi in Sunday's men's final with a, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, semifinal victory over exhausted American Andy Roddick at Rod Laver Arena.
Germany's Rainer Schuettler defeated Andy Roddick Friday to advance to Sunday's Australian Open men's final. (AP Photo/Steve Holland)
The 26-year-old Schuettler, who achieved his best-ever Grand Slam event showing by reaching the quarter-finals this week, will appear in his first major final on Sunday.
While the doubles victory gave the Willimas sisters a championship they can share, they'll be fighting it out with each other when they square off in their fourth consecutive Grand Slam singles final on Saturday.
Serena, who beat Venus in the singles finals at the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open last year, will be looking to become just the fifth woman in history to hold all four major tennis titles at the same time.
"We want to dedicate this win to Mom," Venus said after the victory. "Thanks Mom, we love you and you've been there all the way and we'll be there for you, I promise."
It was the second Aussie Open doubles title for the Williams sisters. They also won at the French and U.S. Open championships in 1999 and at Wimbledon in 2000 and 2002.
Suarez and Ruano Pascual had three Grand Slam titles heading into Friday's match.
"I hope next year Venus and Serena don't play and we can win the championship," Suarez said.
The Spanish-Argentine duo got off to a quick start, clinching the first set when Venus' back-handed return drifted wide.
Serena was broken in the first game of the second set, but the Williams sisters rallied to break Ruano-Pascual twice.
That didn't seem to demoralize Ruano-Pascual, who broke Venus in the first game of the deciding set, but Serena sparked a rally when she saved six break points in the third game.
Venus and Serena lost just one point in the next two games to pick up the victory.
For Schuettler, the victory over Roddick marked the biggest win of his career. Roddick played Friday after prevailing against 18th-seeded Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui on Wednesday in an epic match that took just under five hours to complete -- including a remarkable 2-hour, 23-minute fifth set.
The marathon match appeared to have taken its toll on Roddick in Friday's semifinal.
After splitting the first two sets, Schuettler took control or the match. A fatigued Roddick called for a three-minute injury timeout in the third stanza, as he received treatment on his right forearm.
A leg-weary Roddick was unable to hang with the fresher Schuettler in the third, and the German then broke Roddick to open the fourth and eventually grabbed the fourth set in convincing fashion.
"I'm really speechless just looking at the crowd, it's unbelievable, thanks for the support," Schuettler said after the match.
"This (reaching a Grand Slam final) was a dream and sometimes you have a chance to realize a dream. I'm more than happy and looking forward to playing the final."
The dangerous Schuettler will battle Agassi, who is seeking his eighth overall career Grand Slam crown and a fourth Aussie Open title. Agassi claimed this championship in 1995 and back-to-back in 2000 and 2001 and has won his last 20 matches here in succession.
He skipped the 2002 edition because of a wrist injury suffered on the eve of last year's fortnight.
Agassi is 1-0 lifetime against Schuettler, posting a 6-1, 6-4 clay-court win over the German in Munich in 1998.
In other Open action on Friday, tennis legend Martina Navratilova advanced to her first Grand Slam final in almost eight years, teaming with India's Leander Paes in mixed doubles.
The 46-year-old Navratilova and Paes defeated 2002 champions Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, 6-3, 6-1.
Paes and Navratilova will next face Australia's Todd Woodbridge and Greece's Eleni Daniilidou, who beat Donald Johnson and Rennae Stubbs, 6-4, 6-2 in semifinal play.
with files from Sports Network
