In a replay of their meeting in the fourth round of Wimbledon this year, Serena Williams has pushed past older sister Venus in the quarterfinal of the US Open. This match marks the 27th time the Williams sisters have faced off in their professional careers.
Venus put up a bigger fight in this match, forcing her sister to three sets and taking the second set 1-6. In the end, however, she posed no danger to the younger Williams and kept her on track for her Calendar Year Grand Slam, having already won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in 2015. The win at Wimbledon provided her with what has been nicknamed the Serena Slam — holding each of the grand slam titles at the same time.
If Serena goes on to win the US Open, she will also tie Steffi Graf’s record for the most grand slam wins in the Open Era.
Despite having a match record of 16-11, Serena still refers to her sister as her greatest opponent; she has met many great competitors, but none are as familiar with her playing style and techniques as Venus:
It was great to see her do so well tonight. She was at an unbelievable level today. Down to the match point, it was just not easy. It’s probably the toughest match I’ve played in a really, really, really long time where I wasn’t actually beating myself. I was out there facing an incredibly tough opponent.
I personally love to see the Williams sisters battle it out on the court. It is heartening to know that they can be fierce competitors and still truly love each other at the end of the day. Serena says:
Obviously we are very, very tough competitors on the court, but once the match is over, we’re sisters, we’re roommates, we’re all that.
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