Serena Williams will face her sister Venus in the US Open quarterfinals on Tuesday night. Serena leads 15-11 all-time. Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
NEW YORK — The next person standing in between Serena Williams and her quest for a calendar Grand Slam is her older sister Venus.
Both sisters won their fourth-round matches in straight sets on Sunday afternoon at the US Open and will square off in an epic quarterfinal under the lights on Tuesday night.
“A Williams will be in the semis so that’s good,” Serena said on-court after she handled 20-year-old American Madison Keys, 6-3, 6-3 without facing a single break point.
Asked how their parents, Richard Williams and Oracene Price, feel about the impending matchup, Venus said: “At that point it’s both of your daughters, so whoever wins is a win anyway for you. I think that’s how my parents feel.”
Top-seeded Serena is seeking to become the first person since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win the calendar Grand Slam. She is 15-11 all-time against her older sister and has won six of the last seven against Venus, the No. 23 seed who earlier dispatched Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, 6-2, 6-1 in 50 minutes.
“I don’t feel any pressure,” Serena said. “I wanted that Serena Slam, winning four in a row at Wimbledon was amazing. Now I have a chance to do it here, five in a row. It makes me want to perform better and do better every time I step out here on the court.”
Between them the sisters have won 28 Grand Slam singles crowns, 21 for Serena and seven for Venus. If Serena wins her fourth straight US Open, she would tie Graf for second all-time with 22 Majors.
“‘It’s always tough to watch Venus and Serena play each other but they’re always memorable matches,” Keys said.
In the past, speculation has been raised about one or the other of the sisters tanking a match to the other.
Now if Venus beats her younger sister to advance to the US Open semifinals, she will effectively be halting history in its place.
Venus must be facing some deep mixed feelings about her place in this storyline, and said as much when asked about her role in Serena’s quest.
“I don’t think anyone wants to be a spoiler,” Venus said. “I think people love to see history being made. I think. 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.”
Overall, Serena has now won 25 straight US Open matches and 32 consecutive Grand Slam tournament matches and will enter as a heavy favorite.
“She’s not playing at a level that’s abnormal, it’s just her level,” Venus said of her sister.
Serena took the court following Venus on Sunday, but joked that she could barely watch the match because Venus cruised in less than an hour.
“She’s playing great,” Serena said. “I barely had time to get ready of my match today because she played so fast. I was actually hoping she would lose a few games.”
Serena then came on-court knowing she would face her sister in the quarters is she could take care of Keys, whom Serena has projected as a future No. 1 in the world.
But despite the buildup to the match and the palpable expectations by the big crowd, Serena broke Keys in the eighth game of the first set on a double-fault. Keys then double-faulted again on match point in the second set.
Serena, meantime, appeared to overcome her earlier serving struggles to dominate. She never faced a break point and won 22 of 28 first-serve points.
“It’s much better today,” she said of her serve. “I’m so proud that I was able to serve a lot better. Obviously, I had to because Madison has a great serve. I was like Serena, ‘It’s now or never. You gotta get that serve together.'”
Chrissie Evert was impressed with Serena’s overall level against the young American.
“To me that was the best match she’s played all tournament,” Evert said on ESPN.
Now here comes big sis trying to stop Serena’s run at a Grand Slam.
Can she do it?
“Of course, I’d love to,” Venus said. “But it’s easier said than done.”
