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Not surprisingly, we are down to the Williams sisters who seem to be accruing their dominance of the field with each progressive match and each progressive tournament. Lindsay Davenport has made a welcome return to the tour and has lived up to her special Seeding of No. 4 despite holding a WTA ranking of No. 10. And although she is listed as the No. 10 Seed, Amelie Mauresmo was the form player in her quarter leading up to the championships and is hardly a surprise semifinalist.

Serena Williams

Seed: 1
Ranking: 1
Grand Slams: 3
2001 U.S. Open performance: Finalist (losing to Venus Williams)
Best U.S. Open performance: Winner (1999)

Surprisingly, of the four semifinalists, Serena has accumulated the least impressive results over the American hardcourt season. But that isn't to say she is undeserving of her place with the others -- in fact, quite on the contrary.

Since her loss in the Berlin finals, Serena has posted a 21 match-winning streak which has included the championships at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and has solidified her place as the world's No. 1 player. In fact, losing early in her lone warm-up event was perhaps a bi-result of the hard work and tough matches she has gone through in Europe.

Her start to the tournament was rather lacklustre, with a fairly ordinary performance against Corina Morariu in the first round. Since that match, Serena has looked nothing short of the No. 1 player. Her intensity, her aggression and her dominance has been absolutely overwhelming since her first round match and her opponents have been able to put up nothing more than resignation at times.

Daja Bedanova tried her best in the fourth round by taking the challenge up to Serena by sticking to a serve-volley game. It didn't work. Daniela Hantuchova tried outserving and outpowering Williams in the quarterfinals. Williams was just too solid and too strong on the key moments.

Is there absolutely anything anyone can do to stop the Serena Williams juggernaut? She faces her stiffest challenges against the remaining players in the draw who perhaps are the only ones who can offer some resistance to her outright accuracy and aggression. However on current form, it would not be surprising if she dominated these players as comprehensively as she has the others in her path.

Venus Williams

Seed: 2
Ranking: 2
Grand Slams: 4
2001 U.S. Open performance: Winner
Best U.S. Open performance: Two-time winner (2000,2001)

Venus has had a remarkable American hardcourt season having compiled a 13 match-winning streak by winning Stanford, San Diego, and New Haven with the loss of just a single set (to Kim Clijsters). Losing the Roland Garros final to Serena meant that her sister simply had a better day that day. Losing the Wimbledon final to Serena hurt and meant that she had to make some serious changes in order to regain her dominance and the No. 1 position.

Despite posting the strongest results in the lead-up tournaments, she has not regained the No. 1 position, but would do so with a U.S. Open win. Having not won a major this year, I believe Venus is determined to take her chance on the final Grand Slam of the year. Her form from the lead-up tournaments carried over to the first week of the championships and cruised in dominant fashion just like Serena.

The stumbling block came against Chanda Rubin in the fourth round against whom she faced serious problems. The technical weaknesses in her forehand and her second serve became apparent when she was put under pressure and these shots broke down to give Chanda two break points in order to serve for the match at 5-5 in the third.

It was Venus's determination, tenacity, and refusal to lose that got her through those tough times and I believe that practicing against someone as technically gifted and powerful as her sister is her strongest weapon -- her refusal to go down and her refusal to lose.

Lindsay Davenport

Seed: 4
Ranking: 10
Grand Slams: 3
2001 U.S. Open performance: Quarterfinalist (losing to Serena Williams)
Best U.S. Open performance: Winner (1998)

She may have been off the tour since November 2001 recovering from a serious knee injury, but her return to the circuit has been nothing short of scintillating considering what she has had to go through. Coming into the U.S. Open, Lindsay has recorded two semifinals and two finals in her comeback tournaments and has posted wins over big names including Jelena Dokic, Chanda Rubin, and Amelie Mauresmo.

She has cruised through a fairly cushy draw with a slight hiccup against Elena Bovina in the quarterfinals. It was a good draw for Lindsay to get her game progressively into shape with each match in order to prepare for the latter stages of the tournament.

Against Serena Williams in the semifinals, she faces her toughest task. Having played Venus twice in the lead-up tournaments, Lindsay got demolished the first time -- a sign she was not ready to return to that level of competition -- and mentally lost her way the second time -- a sign she does not believe she can vanquish a Williams.

If someone can match Serena with the pace of shot from the baseline and the serving power and spin (first and second), that person is Lindsay. However, it remains to be seen whether the superior physical - and, at the moment, mental -- capabilities of Serena Williams will be a dominant factor against Lindsay.

Amelie Mauresmo

Seed: 10
Ranking: 9
Grand Slams: 0
2001 U.S. Open performance: Quarterfinalist (losing to Jennifer Capriati)
Best U.S. Open performance: Quarterfinalist (2001)

Amelie Mauresmo is one of the most talented players on the tour. She has won eight career titles, she has been ranked in the Top 5, she has beaten all of the top players (not named Williams), and has reached a Grand Slam final and two Grand Slam semifinals. However, now is a good opportunity for Mauresmo to step up and take her game to the next level.

Mauresmo is in excellent form. She won Montreal in great fashion, dominating Capriati in the finals. Her path to this stage of the tournament has been tough as she has had to guts out some tough wins against Top 10 players, Kim Clijsters and Jennifer Capriati, in the last two rounds. It is a sign that her physical strength and her talent has matched up with the mental aspect of her game which has been a clear deficiency since she came on to the tour.

However, will she resign herself to losing against a Williams? She knows she can beat anyone and has the game to beat anyone, but as of yet, has not claimed a scalp over Serena or Venus. It is obvious that it does weigh on her mind, having stated at Wimbledon that she would have to settle for the No. 3 ranking after the Williams juggernaut.

Add to that the pressure of a Grand Slam semifinal. It will be interesting to see just how Amelie holds herself together on this occasion. I believe that there was nothing she could do to stop Serena at Wimbledon -- Serena was just outplaying her. But I believe she has a big chance against Venus. Venus has looked slightly vulnerable as the tournament has progressed and although she won easily over Seles in the quarterfinals, it remains to be seen whether Mauresmo's variety of shot, athleticism, and speed will force Venus into making more mistakes.

Semifinal Predictions

Serena Williams defeats Lindsay Davenport in two sets (6-2, 7-5).

Venus Williams defeats Amelie Mauresmo in three sets (6-3, 2-6, 6-3).

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