It's never too early to start speculating about another Williams sisters conspiracy
A day after world's No. 1 Serena Williams lost to No. 78 Jana Cepelova at the Family Circle Cup, sister Venus made it through to the third round in the clay-court event in Charleston, S.C.
Venus Williams, the 11th seed and former No. 1 player in the world, needed one hour and 48 minutes to eliminate Chanelle Scheepers 7-5, 7-5 on Wednesday, according to canada.com. The win sets up Venus with a third-round matchup against No. 6 seed Eugenie Bouchard of Canada.
Venus Williams, whose career has been marred by her battle with Sjogren syndrome, an autoimmune disease that causes joint pain and fatigue. But she has adapted a new lifestyle that has included a new vegan diet, and her tennis game has improved because of it.
Venus won the Dubai Championships in February, her first title since October of 2012 - a year after she was diagnosed with Sjogren's. Williams defeated Alize Cornet, losing just three games during the match. It was Cornet, who shocked Serena Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals to deny a match between the sisters in the finals.
The sisters have been accused, along with their father Richard, of staging matches since they both started their rise in the WTA. The issue boiled over at Indian Wells in 2001 when Venus lost in the semifinals and she and Richard were booed when they came to watch Serena in the finals.
Serena's loss this week seemed more plausible because she had just won the Sony Open last weekend and said she was "dead" tired. And the sisters are on the opposite sides of the bracket, so Serena could've picked up a few more wins before having to decide whether she wanted to face Venus.
A win over Borchard in the next round would be another significant accomplishment for Venus, but she should probably be prepared to hear the whispers that Serena gave her a clear path to the championship.
The conspiracy theory does pay a huge compliment to the sisters in that it considers them to be so dominant that they can dispose of any other players and determine whose turn it is to bask in the spotlight.
Can Venus reclaim her status among the women's tennis elite? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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