For stretches of the 27th edition of Williams versus Williams, Venus gave Serena all she could handle.
And when Serena took control down the stretch to emerge with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory in a well-played US Open quarter-final, allowing her to continue pursuing the first calendar-year Grand Slam in more than a quarter-century, a smiling Venus wrapped both arms around her little sister for a warm hug at the net and whispered: “So happy for you.”
“Obviously, we are very, very tough competitors on the court, but once the match is over, the second it’s done, you know, we’re sisters, we’re roommates and we’re all that,” Serena said later.
Photo: AFP
Serena called their unique sibling rivalry “the greatest story in tennis,” and who would argue?
A couple of kids taught by their dad on cement courts in Compton, California, making it all the way to the top.
With two more match wins, the No. 1-ranked Serena would become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to collect all four Grand Slam titles in a single season. Plus, if she can win what would be her fourth US Open in a row, and seventh overall, she would equal Graf with 22 major championships, the most in the professional era and second-most ever behind Margaret Court’s 24.
Photo: Reuters
“That would be huge, not just for me, but for my family, just for what it represents and how hard we have worked and where we come from. So it would be a moment for our family,” said the 23rd-seeded Venus, who is 15 months older. “But at the same time, if it doesn’t happen, it’s not going to make or break you. We don’t have anything to prove. She has nothing to prove. She’s really the best ever.”
Serena is 16-11 in their all-in-the-family matches, including 9-5 in majors and 3-2 at the US Open. And 14 years to the day after Venus beat Serena in the 2001 final at Flushing Meadows, they met again with so much at stake.
Well-known folks such as Donald Trump — who was booed when shown on video screens — Oprah Winfrey and Kim Kardashian dotted the teeming stands in Arthur Ashe Stadium, and the sellout crowd of 23,771 got its money’s worth.
“They both played their best,” said Serena’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. “If they were feeling uncomfortable with playing each other, they could not play at that level.”
The sisters combined for 57 winners (Serena had more, 35) and only 37 unforced errors (Venus had fewer, 15). How close was it? Serena won 76 points, Venus 75.
Both pounded serves fast, very fast, each topping 193kph. Both returned well, oh so well, each managing to put into play at least one serve at more than 185kph by the other.
Venus often attempted to end baseline exchanges quickly. Serena showed tremendous touch by using drop shots, one paired with a backhand passing winner, another with a perfectly curled lob.
When a reporter implied he was not sure whether Venus really wanted to beat Serena, the reply was drenched with incredulity.
“I tried,” Venus replied. “Were you there?”
Today, Serena faces unseeded Robert Vinci of Italy, who reached her first Grand Slam semi-final at age 32 by outlasting Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
The 43rd-ranked Vinci is playing in the 44th major tournament of her singles career, the second-most appearances by a woman before reaching her initial semi-final. Vinci is 0-4 against Serena and joked about wearing a helmet for protection from some of the 33-year-old American’s booming shots.
“She’s the favorite. Maybe she’ll feel the pressure. Who knows? It all depends on her. If she serves well, it’s tough to return,” Vinci said. “But I have nothing to lose.”
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Novak Djokovic defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) to reach the US Open semi-finals, a 21st last-four spot in his last 22 Grand Slams.
The top seed and 2011 champion, playing in his 26th consecutive quarter-final at the majors, claimed his 55th match win in New York.
Djokovic, this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, also enjoyed his fifth win in five meetings against Lopez and will take a staggering 13-0 career record over defending champion Marin Cilic into their Friday semi-final.
Cilic reached the semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 win over France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“Feliciano is one of those rare players who serves and volleys on first and second serves,” 28-year-old Djokovic said after winnning a ninth successive quarter-final in New York. “He has a big serve. I played a bad game in the second game of the second set and it was gone. The fourth set was anyone’s. He had some break points, while I had to wait until the tiebreak to get a look. I played it well and I am happy to get through in four.”
Djokovic had been pushed to four sets by Lopez’s Spanish compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut in the previous round.
However, the 33-year-old Lopez, playing in his first US Open quarter-final after 55 consecutive Grand Slam appearances, was shellshocked in the first set.
In front of a subdued Arthur Ashe Stadium which had thinned out after the Serena Williams-Venus Williams blockbuster, Lopez managed just five points on the Djokovic serve in the 25-minute opener and was broken twice.
However, Lopez, one of four men over 30 to make the last-eight, rallied in the second set, breaking in the second game on his way to a 4-1 lead.
Djokovic saved one set point, but a 10th ace gave serve-and-volleyer Lopez the set 6-3.
The Serb, who was bidding for his 10th Grand Slam title in New York, took the only break of the third set off a Lopez double fault in the second game.
He then played the perfect tie-breaker in the fourth to take victory, while Lopez was left to rue his 48 unforced errors in a match that finished just after 1am yesterday.
Over a four-hour battle on Arthur Ashe Stadium, 26-year-old Cilic claimed a fifth win in six matches against Tsonga, firing 29 aces and 63 winners.
However, the 30-year-old Tsonga made him work in 35oC heat, saving four match points before the champion went through.
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