Venus Williams refused to give up the match late in the second set on Friday night against her sister Serena, but Serena ultimately prevailed with a 6-1, 6-2 victory to advance past the Round of 32 at the US Open.
As the Williams sisters faced off for the first time since the 2017 Australian Open final, Venus was looking to redeem a disappointing 2018 season, while Serena was hoping to bounce back from her Wimbledon loss by reaching back-to-back Grand Slam finals.
After the latter’s second double fault, her sister made a comeback, but her ninth ace set up the winning service run.
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Serena Vs Venus
“Venus was left grimacing after each of her blunders because she had to be flawless to beat Serena on this night,” wrote The Guardian after the match, despite the fact that Serena had more unforced errors (22) than Venus (18) and three double faults to zero on the opposite end.
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Sloane Stephens, the third seed in the women’s draw still alive at the US Open, advanced to the quarterfinals on Friday by beating Victoria Azarenka. After Caroline Wozniacki was shockingly eliminated on Thursday, Sloane Stephens became the top remaining seed and will face Elise Mertens in the following round.
Azarenka’s run to the third round is her best of the season, and Stephens is working hard to regain her French Open form. She hopes to end the season on a high note after early exits at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
This Friday the men’s tour features matches including Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, and John Isner. While Isner battled Nicolas Jarry over five sets, Anderson breezed past Ryan Harrison in straight sets in the first round before losing in the second. So yet, Nadal has seen almost no resistance.
Final Words
Friday started out with a win for Mertens, who took down Barbora Strycova in straight sets. Similarly, Anastasija Sevastova overcame a set down to defeat Ekaterina Makarova in three sets. Elina Svitolina showed no signs of slowing down by completing a clean sweep against Wang Qiang.
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Dominic Thiem, on the men’s side, was given a fright when he lost the opening set to Taylor Fritz before coming back to win in four sets. Nikoloz Basilashvili appeared to be in control against Guido Pella until the third set, when he faltered.
