Sports

Serena and Venus Williams set up 30th meeting at US Open

272

The Williams sisters will meet again (Picture: Getty Images)

Serena and Venus Williams will clash for the 30th time on Friday after the pair booked their spots in the third round of their home Grand Slam.

Serena eased through her night session contest with Carina Witthoeft, winning 6-2 6-2 against the German, to join her older sister in the last-32 after Venus defeated Italys Camila Giorgi 6-4 7-5 in the intense New York heat earlier on Wednesday.

Its the pairs earliest meeting at a major since the Australian Open in 1998 – 20 years ago – and their second encounter of 2018 – with Venus coming out on top at Indian Wells.

And the pair are looking forward to facing off once more at the US Open, although wish the clash was later on in the tournament.

Every match is just looking forward to the next, which is going to obviously be incredibly hard, she said in her on-court interview.

Serena has been in good form (Picture: Anadolu Agency/Getty)

Its obviously a tough match. Its so young in the tournament. It is what it is. In an ideal world wed meet later.

Advertisement Advertisement

Venus said in her post-match press conference: Yeah, I mean, obviously, its early in the tournament, so both of us are going to be looking forward to continuing to play better.

Obviously, its definitely a tough draw.

One player whos looking forward to watching the all-American affair is Andy Murray.

Its incredible what theyve done, he said after his US Open exit at the hands of Fernando Verdasco.

Aug 29, 2018; New York, NY, USA; Andy Murray of the United Kingdom hits to Fernando Verdasco of Spain in a second round match on day three of the 2018 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports — Andy Murray praised the sisters (Picture: USA TODAY Sports)

I mean, amazing really. Obviously theres been other siblings that have had fantastic careers in tennis, but none anywhere close to what theyve managed to achieve. Id be surprised if anything like that ever happens again.

I think both of them are great athletes. I think they both move extremely well. I think thats, for me watching them play, is kind of the outstanding thing, is their movement.

Obviously Serenas got a great serve, they both hit the ball big from the back of the court. I think its more, for me, the way they cover the court. Theyre both fantastic athletes. Theyre still moving extremely well. Maybe not as well as they were a few years ago, but theyre still two of the best movers, in my opinion, on the tour.

Venus covers a lot of ground. She has very, very long strides. Serena is sort of a very strong, powerful mover. That would be the most impressive thing for me.

Advertisement Advertisement