NEW YORK — There wasn’t much on the line when Serena Williams met her older sister Venus in the US Open quarterfinals amid an electric atmosphere Tuesday night.
Just a shot at the first calendar Grand Slam in more than a quarter century, a US Open title and the way two sisters look at each other.
In the end, little sister beat big sis in an entertaining three-setter, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, played before more than 23,000 fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium, including Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Nas and Chris Tucker.
Serena closed it out with a 107-mph ace before approaching the net and embracing her sister.
“I’m so happy for you,” Venus told her sister.
“It’s a really great moment,” Serena said on court. “She’s the toughest player I’ve ever played in my life and the best person I know. It’s hard to play your best friend and at the same time going against the best competitor that I know in women’s tennis.”
It was the first three-set match between the sisters in a Grand Slam since the 2003 Wimbledon Final.
“I would rather lose to Venus as opposed to anyone else,” Serena had said before the match. “I, in general, don’t like to lose.”
Serena’s victory means she is now two wins shy of becoming the first person since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win the Grand Slam. The three-time defending US Open champion will meet Roberta Vinci in the semifinals on Thursday in a match in which she will be heavily favored. Vinci advanced earlier Tuesday over Kristina Mladenovic in three sets.
“She’s going to present a completely different game than my last four matches so it will be really interesting to play someone completely different so we’re just going to go out and have e lot of fun,” Serena said of Vinci.
Serena remains on track to win her 22nd career Major title, which would tie her for second all-time.
“If she reaches 22, there’s no reason to believe she can’t reach 24, which is Margaret Court’s record,” Chrissie Evert said on ESPN.
Serena improved to 16-11 against her older sister and has now won seven of the last eight between the siblings.
After stumbling in the second set and getting broken twice to force a third set, Serena found her groove in the third set, breaking Venus in the second game for a 2-0 lead. She then took a seemingly commanding 3-0 lead thanks to a 110-mph service winner.
“Holding serve in the third set was all I could do,” Serena said. “She came out hitting so hard. I was on defense a lot because she has so much power. It wasn’t really easy at all.”
Serena looked calm, cool and collected to start.
She earned the first break in the fifth game of the first set to go ahead 3-2 and then got the double-break to take a commanding 5-2 lead.
When the first set ended in 33 minutes, it looked like it could be over in an hour.
But Serena showed some nerves in the second set and Venus stepped up her serve game big time.
Venus broke Serena for a 3-1 lead when Serena double-faulted with a 68-mph serve. It was the first sign that she might be feeling the nerves.
“It’s hard to play your best friend and at the same time going against the best competitor that I know in women’s tennis,” Serena said.
“When I’m playing her I don’t think of her as my sister. She’s hitting so many big serves and running so many shots down so we don’t really think about it.”
Venus then earned a double-break for 5-1 and closed out the second set on her third set point when Serena hit a backhand into the net. Venus lost only one point on her serve in the second set.
“It feel like the finals of a Slam to play Venus in the quarters or semis,” Serena’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou said on ESPN before the match.
“Serena knows she has to lift her level because on the other side of the court is such a champion and competitor, so it’s exactly the same feeling as a final.
“She knows if she doesn’t play 100 percent aggressive, Venus will play aggressive as well. It’s a big pressure but it’s the kind of pressure that makes you lift your level.”
Photo: John Ratnaswamy
