It felt like a full-circle match and moment at the U.S. Open. As the large crowd milled outside Arthur Ashe Stadium full of anticipation on a steamy Tuesday night, it was hard not to flash back to the beginnings for Venus and Serena Williams.
To Compton, Calif., and the early phases of their father Richard’s unlikely business plan to make them champions. To braces and hair beads and walking off court hand-in-hand after their first match against each other as professionals at the 1998 Australian Open.
To Venus sitting, with her hood up and her emotions mixed, in the stands of this vast stadium in 1999 as her little sister became the first Williams to win a major singles title.
In a family sport, the Williamses have provided a sibling rivalry like no other, and it seemed altogether fitting that they met again this September with so much tennis history on the line.
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But there was no tweaking the narrative arc of their remarkable careers on Tuesday. Though Venus the elder swung for the lines and even won the second set in a hurry, Serena the younger prevailed — as she has so often in recent years — to win this quarterfinal match, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, and bring the prospect of a Grand Slam ever closer to reality.
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