Serena Bests Sister Venus in Tight Matchup in Kentucky

It has been more than 22 years since Venus and Serena Williams first played each other on tour. They were teenagers then, with beads in their hair and braces on their teeth.

Tennis greatness was predicted — and not just by Richard Williams, their father and coach — and the sisters have delivered. But what is nearly as remarkable as their success is their longevity, and on Thursday they faced each other for the 31st time in a strange and new environment with Serena Williams prevailing 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Top Seed Open.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, there were no paying spectators allowed. And after the Williamses removed their masks and began ripping serves and groundstrokes in the summer heat, their often brilliant efforts were met with near silence: just scattered applause from the team members and the officials sitting courtside at this lower-tier WTA event in the suburbs of Lexington, Ky.

It looked, at first glance, more like a practice match, but Venus, 40, and Serena, 38, immediately made it clear that they were all business: exchanging a series of high-velocity groundstrokes on the opening point before Serena finished it with a backhand winner.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/13/sports/tennis/serena-williams-venus-williams.html