Most of us were moved by Former World No.1 Venus Williams’ performance last week at the Toray Pan Pacific Open where she reached the Semifinals, losing in three sets to eventual champion Petra Kvitova. Williams’ younger sister and present World No.1 Serena too was amongst those who were motivated by the way Venus played.

“Venus is so inspiring in terms of her fight - she never gives up, even after what she's been through,” Serena said. “I've never seen her down - maybe once, but that's it. It's encouraging, not only for me, but for anyone who's going through something. You see her and realize that if you keep trying, you can get through it.”

Venus and Serena are on opposite sides of the draw in Beijing, which means that there is a slight chance of a 24th All-Williams final taking place. Though it’s a farfetched thought as Venus will have no time to recover from the 5 matches she has to play in 5 days, Serena believes that one should not count Venus out.

“I think Venus is the greatest player I've ever played,” Serena said. “To me she's capable of anything. So I would never say that she isn't capable of becoming a top player again, no more than I'd say I wouldn't be. “