US Open: Williams sisters to face off in quarter-finals
Serena, a 21-time grand slam champion, holds a 15-11 edge in head-to-head meetings.
Published On 7 Sep 2015
The Williams family show took centre stage at the US Open with Serena and Venus both cruising to straight set wins to set up a monster quarter-final between the tennis siblings.
Whenever the Williams sisters clash on court it is a major tennis event but with older sister Venus, a twice US Open winner, standing in the way of defending champion Serena’s quest for a rare calendar-year grand slam their meeting on Tuesday has been elevated to a must-see sporting viewing.
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With Serena bidding to become just the fourth woman to win all four grand slams in the same year, the US Open hype machine that already had been in top gear is now set to crank into overdrive.
The Williams sisters have met 26 times over their careers with Serena coming out on top 15-11 but meeting number 27 will have more than the usual family bragging rights riding on the outcome.
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The 35-year-old Venus, seeded 23rd, overpowered 19-year-old qualifier Estonian Anett Kontaveit 6-2 6-1 in a ruthless fourth-round display that took just 50 minutes.
Serena followed her sister onto Arthur Ashe Stadium court and was no less efficient, routing fellow American Madison Keys 6-3 6-3 in 68 minutes.
“Obviously getting to a Grand Slam semifinal is the next step toward the final. Pretty clear what’s up for grabs here,” said Venus.
“I think people love to see history being made. No one is out to be a spoiler, but at the same time, you’re focused on winning your match even though the circumstances are really much different than you.
“You still have to prepare, still have to play well.”
![Bouchard was a 2014 Wimbledon finalist [AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/98fad5af1f434f438a4458461a2ead6b_18.jpeg)
Meanwhile, Canadian 25th seed Eugenie Bouchard has withdrawn from the US Open after suffering a concussion in a locker room fall.
A Wimbledon finalist in 2014, Bouchard suffered the injury on Friday when she slipped and fell in the locker room and had already pulled out of doubles and mixed doubles matches scheduled for Saturday.
Bouchard had been scheduled to meet Italy’s Roberta Vinci in a fourth-round match on Louis Armstrong Stadium court on Sunday.
Source: Reuters