Serena Williams got the better of sister Venus in the third round of the US Open on Friday. In the 30 professional matches between the two, Serena’s dominating 6-1, 6-2 win helped her match her most dominating performance against her sister.
Serena produced a commanding performance on the night as she shook off an early ankle injury to notch up wins in seven straight games at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The clash between the Williams’ sisters didn’t take much longer to end as Venus didn’t have an answer to Serena’s accuracy and power, despite the crowd’s efforts to cheer her up in the second set. The duo hadn’t met so early in a Grand Slam in 20 years where
Venus had come out victorious in the second round of the Australian Open in 1998.
“I think it’s by far the best match I ever played against her in forever,” Serena said Serena.
“But I don’t know about ever, ever. It probably was. I played much better tonight than I have since I started this journey on my way back,” she added.
Despite her strong show in the match-her first of a kind performance since the birth of her daughter- the 17th seeded Serena claimed that it wasn’t as easy as it looked.
“It’s not easy,” claimed Serena.
The 25-time Grand Slam winner had 10 aces compared to one by Venus who looked strained after a tough beginning for her in the competition where she played a three-setter in her very first match against Svetlana Kuznetsova. Serena, on the other hand, had an easier going in her first two rounds in the tournament.
But Venus’ look of discouragement said it all as she accepted, “I mean, she played so well, I never got to really even touch any balls,” she said.
She further added, “When your opponent plays like that, it’s not really anything to be upset about.”
Having had a treatment done to her ankle while holding a 2-1 lead over her sister, Serena gradually secured a 5-1 lead and then scored off two aces in the next service game to win the first set. She would now face Kaia Kanepi who defeated Simona Halep in the very first round.