ROME -- Big sister still holds the Williams family title.

In their second meeting on the WTA tour, Venus Williams again defeated sister Serena in straight sets Friday in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.

It kept Venus

Venus Williams towered over her little sister on and off the court Friday at the Italian Open. (AP)

on track for a possible meeting in the final with top-seeded Martina Hingis -- the two hottest players on the circuit.

THE WILLIAMS FAMILY SHOWDOWN set off few sparks as the ninth-seeded Venus eliminated her unseeded sister 6-4, 6-2, and the outcome never seemed in doubt.

"The first time was different," said Serena, explaining the lack of emotion by the two sisters who first met in the Australian Open in January.

Nor did Hingis have to dig in too much on the Foro Italico's red clay to beat Anna Kournikova. The packed center court crowd tried to get the Russian into the match, but Hingis kept up her perfect record against Kournikova, winning 6-2, 6-4.

The Williams match was the first of the day but was hardly a battle at high noon.

The 17-year-old Venus, who is one year older than Serena, showed more poise and consistency, but neither was admittedly particularly brilliant.

"FOR SURE, I THINK WE both had a bad day," Venus said. "I think in the future we'll both have better days against each other."

Serena did not look as confident as she had a day earlier, when she eliminated four-time Italian Open champion Conchita Martinez.

In one of the few really decisive points of the match, Serena blew an easy volley en route to getting her service broken in the sixth game of the second set and seemed to lose her fight.

"I was a little disappointed," said Serena. "I went out there really wanting to win this time. But there will be another time."

"I think Serena knows what she needs to do to beat me," said her big sister, laughing, "but I'd have to make a lot of mistakes. I was more consistent today at the important times."

VENUS WILL FACE NO. 5 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the semifinals Saturday. The two-time former French Open champion battled back Thursday to beat No. 15 Lisa Raymond of the United States 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 6-2.

Hingis took advantage of Kournikova's early uneven play, when she sprayed balls wildly and had trouble getting lift on her forehand.

"She's pretty much known for being a slow starter," Hingis said of the Russian. "I was kind of afraid because she's also known for turning matches around."

Kournikova brought the crowd to its feet when she saved five match points in the last two games, but then succumbed to Hingis for the fourth time in four meetings.

The victory lifted Hingis' match record this year to 28-3, keeping ahead of Venus Williams, who is now 26-3. Two of Hingis' losses, however, were to the elder Williams.

In the semifinals, Hingis will face off-court friend 16-year-old Mirjana Lucic of Croatia for the first time. Lucic, who won her homeland tournament in Bol last week, led No. 12 Sandrine Testud of France, 7-5, before Testud retired with a left hamstring muscle strain.