Venus, Serena reach French final and are poised to become 1-2 in rankings.(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

PARIS _ It was a day the cognoscenti of women's tennis knew was coming from the moment Serena Williams whipped her older sister, Venus, in the semifinals at Key Biscayne in March.

Not only did the sisters slug their way into the final of the French Open on Thursday, but they earned the right to be No. 1 and No. 2 when the new rankings are released on Monday.

This historic moment won't be lost on millions of tennis fans, though it seemed less than momentous to Venus. "It's real nice," she said with lukewarm interest. "But I don't think we were even really thinking about being one and two. We were just wanting to do well at the French Open."

They've done more than well. Venus, the No. 2 seed, easily defeated Clarisa Fernandez of Argentina …