US OPEN: Serena Williams Beat Sister Venus To Advance To The Semis

World number one Serena Williams overcame her sister Venus with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to advance to the Semi-finals of the US Open in New York.

The world number one will play unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci in the last four on Thursday, a player she’s never lost to in four meetings.

Serena, 33, could become the first player to win all four major grand slam title in the same year since Steffi Graf in 1988, however, Venus, 35, was playing in the fourth round of the US Open for the first time since 2010.

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Venus, who battled back from a set down to force a final set, was unfortunate as Sister Serena capitalised on an early service break to claim her 33rd straight win at the Slams.

The Williams sisters had played each other 26 times on the professional circuit, but their 27th contest was as highly anticipated as any.

A lengthy preceding match meant Tuesday’s night session was delayed, and expectancy rose outside Arthur Ashe Stadium as 23,000 spectators waited to take their seats for the night session. 

The hug at the net was the conclusion to an evening that would make a grand chapter in the book of Serena and Venus Williams’ careers: the two embracing, Venus with words of praise for her kid sister: “I’m so happy for you.”

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Venus, though not happy to lose, was excited to see her sister have an opportunity to enter the record books.

She said; “Losing isn’t fun, but probably the most gratifying part is I’m still very excited to see Serena have an opportunity to win the four majors.”

Serena, on the other hand, applauded her sister, calling her, her best friend and greatest competitor.

“She’s the toughest player I’ve ever played in my life and the best person,”

“It’s going against your best friend and the greatest competitor, for me, in women’s tennis, so it was really difficult for me today.”

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Meanwhile, in the men’s single, World number one Novak Djokovic, 28, beat Spanish 18th seed Feliciano Lopez 6-1 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-2) to advance to the Semi-finals, while, Croatia’s Marin Cilic withstood a Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fightback to win 6-4 6-4 3-6 6-7 (3-7) 6-4.

Djokovic will now play 9th seed Marin Cilic in the Semi-finals of the US Open on Thursday.

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