Serena Williams wins, serves up clash with sister Venus

Serena Williams wins, serves up a clash with sister Venus

WHAT HAPPENED: Venus did her part, in the heat of the day. Eight hours later, Serena Williams matched her big sister, setting up yet another clash between the closest of tennis sisters – the 30th of their storied careers.  

Serena may have come into the US Open with relatively little match preparation, just 12 months after giving birth to Alexis Olympia. But she is Serena Williams. Holder of 23 Grand Slams. An unheralded German wasn’t going to keep her from a meeting at a major with her big sister.

Under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Serena looked sharp in dismissing the 101st-ranked German, Carina Witthoeft, 6-2, 6-2. The American’s big weapons, her serve and forehand, were especially on point when she needed them most, facing or trying to capitalize on break points. At one point in the first serve, Serena salvaged a service game by striking five aces.

Her timing and footwork looked smooth, and Williams was in fine serving rhythm, crunching 13 aces and 30 winners overall.

Witthoeft, who was in the Top 50 at the start of the year but has since dropped to playing ITF events, is no slouch; She has registered seven wins over Top 30 players. But Serena routinely smacked clean forehand service return winners to keep the German on the defensive and win in just over an hour of play.  

WHAT IT MEANS: Serena has breezed through her first two matches, both at night; Venus has labored through hers, spending five hours on court in brutally hot conditions, with temperatures soaring in the high 90s in the daytime.

Serena leads the head-to-head matchup with Venus, 17-12, overall (they have met 15 times in Slams, with Serena taking 10 of those). The sisters last played in Indian Wells this past spring, in Serena’s first tournament back after giving birth to her first child. Venus won that one in straight sets.

The last time they met in a major was the final of the 2017 Australian Open, which Serena won while playing two months pregnant. Venus later joked that her younger sister had had an unfair advantage: “It was two against one,” the older Williams said.

This will be only the second time the Williams sisters have met in the first week of a major. The other was in the very first one in which they played each other, the 1998 Australian Open.

"[We] bring out the best in each other. I know when I play her, I have to play some of my best tennis," said Serena of her older sister. "She does, too. It propels us to continue to play that for the tournament. It sets a tone for us. I feel like throughout our career, we have pushed each other to be the best that we can be, and be Venus and Serena Williams."

MATCH POINT: With Vogue editor Anna Wintour in the audience, the ever-stylish Serena took to the court in a lilac version of the black tulle tutu she wore Monday night (designed by Virgil Abloh), complete with lavender high tops.

"I feel like throughout our career, [Venus and I] have pushed each other to be the best that we can be."