A match against Venus Williams awaits Serena Williams in the third round of the US Open. Serena advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Carina Witthoeft in their second-round match.
Serena vs Venus US Open 2018
Even though Serena, the 17th seed, lost the previous time she played her sister, she is in much better shape today and looked smart and strong throughout her win. That was evident in both of her New York bouts.
Venus, the 16th seed, defeated the strong Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets (6-3, 5-7, 6-3) in her first round. On Wednesday, she played Camila Giorgi and won in two sets, 6-4 and 7-5. Venus’s stats were not as impressive as Serena’s: she hit fewer winners, had a lower first-serve percentage (68%), made fewer unforced mistakes, and managed to break serve on five of her ten chances.
Serena dropped an early service break in the opening set against Witthoeft, but she recovered and won the set easily, 6-2. At the outset of the second set, Witthoeft mounted another comeback, this time by holding serve in several tough games, but ultimately fell short.
Serena’s Match Against Witthoeft on Wednesday was Their first Ever Meeting.
Magda Linette was Serena’s opponent in the first round, and the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion gave a stunning performance. Serena’s superior mobility led to a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Linette, who wasn’t even playing poorly.
The tide in the Williams Sisters rivalry has swung back and forth numerous times, with Serena winning three consecutive matches before Venus defeated her 6-4, 6-4 at Indian Wells earlier this year.
Taking the overall head-to-head score, Serena has a 17-12 advantage. In the 2017 Australian Open final, Serena defeated Venus for the last time. Serena has a 10-5 advantage over Venus in Grand Slam matches.
The score is much tighter when playing on hard courts, with Serena holding a slim 10-9 advantage. If Venus prevails, it will be the first and only time the sisters have been evenly matched on any surface.
On Friday, Serena and Venus will face off in their encounter.
