Their doubles feat at  Wimbledon has raised the debate again: are the Williams sisters the greatest twosome in sporting history? Jayadev Calamur cites instances of  blood brothers whose stories are no less riveting

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Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet.     — Vietnamese Proverb

Women’s tennis has seen one constant in the last decade — that is the Williams sisters. After Steffi Graf retired, women’s tennis has never seen such an awesome twosome. Venus and Serena Williams have hit the news in such a way that they may be considered the greatest sibling duo in the history of the sport. And that is no big feat.

Over the years, sibling dominance has made for many riveting stories. Chappell brothers (Ian and Greg), Waugh brothers (Steve and Mark), the Pollock clan (Graeme and Peter) in cricket, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, one of the greatest doubles combo ever in tennis, Bobby and Jack Charlton in football, Michael and Ralf Schumacher in Formula One are a few names that instantly spring to mind.

The Williams sisters seem to have caught our fancy like no other. The duo has won 20 career doubles titles, including 13 Grand Slams and two Olympic gold medals. Wait, that’s not all.

Venus and Serena were involved in one of the biggest professional rivalries in women’s tennis. Venus, the eldest of the two, had the upper hand initially. As Serena added new facets to her game, she became increasingly confident. It wasn’t long before she dominated Venus.

The on-court warfare didn’t translate into jealousy. They channelled the rivalry into something healthy and challenging, always bringing out the best in each other.

Siblings have been a dominant force in sport for many years now. They have won titles, World Cups, Grand Slams and Grand Prix races. And the best bit has been that there has been no jealousy or bad blood when one sibling has done better.

In his autobiography, Out Of My Comfort Zone, Steve Waugh recalls how he was telephoned by selector Bob Simpson, who told him he had been dropped and that his replacement was Mark Waugh. “Of all of us,” wrote Waugh, “I think I was probably the most comfortable with the situation, because I knew the decision was right…It didn’t take long for Mark to reveal his class at the highest level, peeling off an effortless Test hundred at the first opportunity, while I went back to Bankstown Oval to start my rehabilitation.”

Then when the Steve came back into the Australian team, both he and Mark shared the dressing room. There was a time in the 1990s when the opposition would groan at Mark Waugh’s dismissal. Between them, they made 52 Test centuries, 21 ODI centuries, picked up over 100 Test wickets and just under 300 ODI wickets. They were part of a World Cup-winning unit (1999) as well as a Test side that dominated world cricket for years.Don’t forget their 231-run stand at Jamaica in the 1995 series that ended the West Indies stranglehold in Test cricket.

Competition has always been a natural phenomenon among siblings. They try and outdo each other and in the process, it’s good for the team. The records speak for themselves. India do well whenever Irfan and Yusuf play together, Australia did when the Chappells and Waughs were at their prime and Zimbabwean cricket owes a lot to the Flowers. The Charltons were teammates when England won the FIFA World Cup in 1966.

Sibling dominance has led to many a successful sporting story. It’s tough, professional but there is no bad blood or jealousy. And this is exactly what sport needs today.