KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Venus Williams did her little victory dance and looked up into the stands where her sister, Serena, was cheering.

The Williamses had reason to celebrate. With Venus' come-from-behind, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 quarterfinal victory over No. 4 Jana Novotna yesterday, the sisters remain on a showdown course at the Lipton Championships.

But before they have a chance to meet, Venus, the No. 6 seed and defending Lipton women's champ, will have to take care of No. 7 Steffi Graf tonight, and Serena, No. 16, will have to dispose of world No. 1 Martina Hingis this afternoon.

To hear their dad, Richard Williams, tell it, neither should be a problem.

"No one here is going to whip Serena," said Richard. "And Venus is very inspired. She's the defending champion. This is her house."

It may be Venus' house, but yesterday, the foundation seemed a little shaky as she and Novotna engaged in an error-filled slugfest that took 2 hours, 18 minutes.

Originally scheduled as the third match on Stadium Court, they were fortunate to get an early start. Men's No. 7 Richard Krajicek made short work of Thomas Enqvist in their semifinal, advancing to tomorrow's men's final against No. 74 Sebastien Grosjean, who beat No. 22 Francisco Clavet, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, yesterday.

Krajicek has been playing some formidable tennis here. He knocked off No. 1 Pete Sampras several days ago and then yesterday was serving so well that when Enqvist was later asked if he had at least had a little fun on the court, the Swede couldn't help but laugh wryly.

"When you can't even see the guy's second serve, you are not having a lot of fun," said Enqvist.

As for the second match, Graf was able to advance to today's semifinal without hitting a shot when No. 2 Lindsay Davenport defaulted because of a sprained left wrist.

Davenport evidently hurt the wrist during practice Sunday. Despite advancing to the quarterfinals, she was compelled to withdraw because the pain has not gone away.

Williams and Graf have met three times in their careers, twice in the last three months. Graf has the 2-1 edge, but lost a three-setter the last time they played.

"Venus is definitely taking more risks and is playing more powerful, especially on her first serve," Graf said. "She's going to go more for her shots and try to put more pressure on and, on this surface, she's probably considered the favorite."

Yesterday, however, Venus didn't look like a favorite and it was going for more that got her in trouble most of the time. In fact, she and Novotna combined for 111 unforced errors and only 59 winners.

Despite appearances in the second set, when what had been a very competitive match began looking like it would turn into a walkover, Novotna said she was simply tired, not injured, and in the end, was outfoxed.

"She's a much smarter player than she was the last time I played her," said Novotna, 30.

"At first, she hit to my backhand and then she changed and hit everything to my forehand and that kept me away from the net, which is my strength. Next time, I'll have to come up with something else."

For her part, Venus said she just kept fighting for every point.

"I was able to come through," Venus said, smiling. "Jana made me work for all my points. You have to be there for every point. Jana and I are both quick players and it's tough for either of us to hit winners. But I think my greatest improvement is that whether I'm playing good or bad, I'm trying on every point."

Pub Date: 3/26/99