Williams will face Williams again

NEW YORK – Get ready for the latest Grand Slam installment of Williams vs. Williams. One big difference this time: The superstar siblings will be meeting in the third round at the U.S. Open, their earliest showdown at a major tournament in 20 years.

Serena Williams set up the highly anticipated matchup at Flushing Meadows by hitting 13 aces and overwhelming 101st-ranked Carina Witthoeft of Germany, 6-2, 6-2, in a little more than an hour in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night. Hours earlier, across the way at Louis Armstrong Stadium, Venus Williams did her part with another straight-set victory, eliminating 40th-ranked Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-4, 7-5.

“I hope,” Venus said after her match, “we get to play.”

Serena made sure of it.

They will play Friday, and it is going to be their 30th tour-level encounter – plus, of course, all those times when they traded shots from across the net as kids in California, then on practice courts all around the world. It’s also soonest the sisters have played each other at any Grand Slam since their very first tour match, all the way back at the 1998 Australian Open. Venus won that one. But since then, it’s been the younger Serena who’s grown dominant.

The reason this match comes so early is that their rankings are not what they’ve been in the past. Serena is No. 26, playing in only the seventh tournament since she was off the tour for more than a year while having a baby. Even though the U.S. Tennis Association bumped her seeding up to reflect her past success, it still placed her at No. 17. Venus is No. 16.

“It’s so young in the tournament,” Serena said. “We would have rather met later.”

She leads the series, 17-12, including 10-5 at majors.

Both have been ranked No. 1. They have won a combined 30 Grand Slam singles trophies, 23 by Serena. They own eight U.S. Open singles championships, six by Serena.

They’ve played each other in the finals of all four Slams, including at the U.S. Open in 2001 (when Venus won) and 2002 (when Serena did).

“It’s incredible what they’ve done. I mean, amazing really. Obviously there’s been other siblings that have had fantastic careers in tennis, but none anywhere close to what they’ve managed to achieve,” said three-time major champion Andy Murray, whose first major since hip surgery ended with a four-set loss to No. 31 Fernando Verdasco. “I’d be surprised if anything like that ever happens again.”