Venus Williams ended a streak of six consecutive losses to her younger sister Serena by winning 6-1, 7-6 (8) Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Nasdaq-100 Open.
Meeting for the first time since July 2003, the sisters produced the same tense, sloppy tennis that has marred the family rivalry in the past. But there was plenty of effort and emotion.
When Serena lost the first five games, she took an angry swipe at the hardcourt and mangled her racket, prompting jeers from the stadium crowd.
PHOTO: EPA
"Her racket is actually fragile -- powerful but fragile," Venus said.
Then, when Venus smacked a crosscourt winner for a 3-2 lead in the second set, she walked to her chair with a glare, her teeth gritted in determination, while Serena admonished herself and screamed a profanity.
"She's definitely a little more fiery than I am," Venus said. "I keep it a little more even-keel."
In the tiebreaker, Serena pushed a forehand into the net to fall behind 9-8, then flung her racket and buried her face in her hands. She sailed a backhand long on match point, and Venus raised her arms in jubilation.
The sisters met at the net and hugged, and Venus consoled her younger sister with a pat on the back. Venus grinned and waved to the crowd, then gestured to Serena and applauded by patting her racket.
"In the last matches Serena just always played better," Venus said. "She won them. I was happy at least that a Williams won. Obviously I would have loved to have won, but for me it's like the past now."
"There was nothing I could do in the first set, but I had plenty of chances in the second," Serena said. "We should still be out there."
In the semifinals Thursday, No. 8-seeded Venus will play No. 2-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia.
"Maria should be ready to play, for sure," Serena said.
Sharapova interrupted Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne's comeback from a seven-month layoff by winning 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-2. Among those reaching the men's quarterfinals were top-ranked Roger Federer of Switzerland and six-time Key Biscayne champion Andre Agassi.
Williams met Williams for the first time since the 2003 Wimbledon final, and the latest chapter in their series produced the same awkward shotmaking as in the past. Venus hit one serve that landed short of the net.
"It has always been difficult for me to watch," Agassi said before the match. "I just couldn't imagine what it's like competing against a sibling."
But the surprising result might revive the rivalry, and it's a psychological breakthrough for Venus, who went into a tailspin after her last win over Serena for the 2001 US Open title. Since that match, Serena has since won six major titles, beating Venus in the final five times.
The sisters took the court at 8:30pm, Serena wearing a fuchsia body suit and Venus in a more conservative black and white dress. Serena foot-faulted twice in her first service game, perhaps a sign of nerves, and was soon talking to herself.
"Why would you do that?" she said after one errant shot.
"The first set for me was fantastic," Venus said.
Venus smacked winners into the corners and scrambled after shots beyond the reach of most players, surprising Serena at least once when the ball came back. But Venus also had seven double faults and 30 unforced errors while converting just three of 12 break-point chances, and Serena was no sharper.
Most of the drama came in the tiebreaker. Serena saved one match point when Venus mis-hit a backhand for 6-6. Venus then twice saved set points with backhand winners, the second kissing the baseline for 8-all.
Two points later, big sister had a big win. Venus said she's confident she'll regain the No. 1 ranking.
"For me its a given," she said. "I feel like I have the talent and the experience. I feel like it's a matter of time."
Federer was pushed to three sets for the second match in a row but beat Mario Ancic of Croatia 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Federer, bidding for his first Key Biscayne title, extended his winning streak to 19 matches and improved to 45-1 since the start of last year's US Open.
Agassi endured a grueling first set and beat French Open champion Gaston Gaudio of Argentina 7-6 (7), 6-2. Gaudio faded after converting just one of 10 breakpoint chances in the opening set, which lasted 85 minutes.
Agassi's opponent Thursday will be No. 31 Taylor Dent, who beat German Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4.
Two Spaniards made the men's final eight. Rafael Nadal, an 18-year-old left-hander with two titles already this year, beat No. 13-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3. Unseeded David Ferrer rallied past countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-7 (7), 6-3, 7-5.
No. 6 Tim Henman of Britain also won and will next play Federer. No. 26 Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia, who upset Marat Safin in the third round, eliminated 18-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-3.
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