Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Serena defeats Venus handily
NEW YORK — Serena Williams equaled her most-lopsided victory ever in 30 professional meetings with sister Venus, beating her 6-1, 6-2 on Friday night in the third round of the U.S. Open.
Serena shook off an early ankle injury to win seven straight games and seize control in perhaps her most dominant performance since giving birth to her daughter a year ago today.
The sisters’ earliest meeting in a Grand Slam tournament in 20 years was over early, with Venus unable to do anything to blunt Serena’s power, even after the crowd tried desperately to get behind her early in the second set.
“It’s not easy,” Serena said, despite how easy it looked in a match that lasted just 1 hour, 12 minutes.
“She’s my best friend. She means the world to me. Every time she loses, I feel like I do. It’s not very easy, but it’s a tournament. We know there’s more to life than just playing each other and playing tennis.”
They hadn’t played this early in a Grand Slam since Venus won in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open in their first meeting as pros, and only once over the next two decades had either won so decisively. Serena won by the same score in a semifinal victory in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2013.
“I think it’s the best match she’s ever played against me,” Venus said. “I don’t think I did a lot wrong. But she just did everything right.”
Serena, the No. 17 seed, will face Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, who knocked out top-ranked Simona Halep in the first round.
Serena, who turns 37 next month, leads the series 18-12 with her sister, 11-5 in Grand Slam tournaments. But this one wasn’t expected to be so easy, not with Serena still working her way back into form after returning to the tour in the spring.
But this was the type of tennis that has brought her to 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the ability to pound balls all over the court and chase down the rare shots that looked like they might get past her.
“This was my best match since I returned,” he said. “I worked for it. I worked really hard these last three or four months. That’s life, you have to keep working hard no matter ups or downs you have. That’s what I’ve been doing.”
She pounded 10 aces to just one for Venus, the No. 16 seed who was perhaps a little drained after two tough matches to begin the tournament, including a three-setter against 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in her opener.
Serena had an easier time in the first two rounds, though that was expected to change Friday under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium. They had combined for eight titles in Flushing Meadows, six by Serena, and each had beaten the other in a U.S.
Open final.
But there was no beating Serena on this night, and the discouraged look on Venus’ face across much of the match indicated she seemed to realize it.
“I mean, she played so well, I never got to really even touch any balls,” said Venus, a semifinalist at the U.S. Open last year. “When your opponent plays like that, it’s not really anything to be upset about.”
It looked as if Serena could have trouble when, in the second game of the match, her right ankle turned awkwardly when Venus hit behind her on a shot.
Serena stood near the baseline with her back to the court for quite a few seconds, then motioned to the chair umpire that she wanted to the see the trainer at the next changeover.
Serena had the ankle treated with a 2-1 lead, then broke in the next game, helped when Venus missed an easy swinging volley
wide. She would break again for a 5-1 lead, then pound two aces in the next service game to wrap up the first set in 31 minutes.
In other U.S. Open play, the No. 1-ranked Rafael Nadal overcame a shaky start Friday and used his customary relentless style to wear down No. 27 seed Karen Khachanov physically and mentally, eventually getting to the fourth round with an entertaining and back-andforth 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) victory that took 4 hours, 23 minutes.
“I escaped a very tough situation,” Nadal said, “so it’s a great thing.”
The man he beat in last year’s final at Flushing Meadows, No. 5 Kevin Anderson, got through his own tough test against an up-and-coming opponent, edging No. 28 Denis Shapovalov 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
After Nadal ceded the opening set, he had a trainer put tape under his right knee, which has caused problems
off-and-on for the Spaniard over the years. Nadal later got more wrapping there during a 10-minute break at 5-all in the second set while the retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium was shut because of light rain.
Just prior to the delay, Khachanov had served for that set at 5-4, and three times was two points away from taking it. But he couldn’t get closer than that. Nadal broke for 5-all and, after the delay, broke again to even it at a set apiece, aided by two double-faults from Khachanov. When Nadal earned that set with a passing shot that drew an errant volley, he crouched and yelled. Folks sitting in his guest box rose. A chunk of the crowd gave a standing ovation. Khachanov swatted a ball in disgust.
Nadal said the brief break was just what he needed.
“I just trying to calm myself for a moment. He was playing well,” Nadal said.
“But for me, the most important thing is have the right tempo when I am playing. For some moments I felt things were going too fast in my mind. I didn’t take the time to do the right steps, to go to the ball with the right decision, with the right determination, with the right timing.”
The end of the third set was similar: Khachanov twice was two points from owning it and couldn’t get across the line, helping Nadal with three double-faults
in the tiebreaker. And while Nadal kept letting set points slip away, four in all, he made No. 5 count, and how. It was a quintessential Nadal point, too: a 40-stroke exchange — yes, 40! — that featured so much defense from Nadal until Khachanov netted a backhand, then tossed his racket on the sideline.
“I needed that set, of course,” Nadal said.
He had one more pivotal part to get through: Khachanov’s set point in the fourth while ahead 6-5 as Nadal served at 30-40. But Khachanov put a forehand in the net there, and after a thrilling point that featured a drop shot, a lob, a leaping ‘tweener by Khachanov and a volley winner by Nadal, they headed to another tiebreaker.
This one was pretty much all Nadal.
In sum, he handled the particularly crucial points better than Khachanov did. Which, really, should come as no surprise given the disparity in age, experience and success. One man, the 32-year-old Nadal, owns 17 Grand Slam titles, three at Flushing Meadows. The other, the 22-year-old Khachanov, has never been past the fourth round at a major tournament.
The sort of big hitting the 6-foot-6, 192-pound Russian displayed Friday, including 22 aces and booming groundstrokes, bodes well for his future.
“That just shows that I’m
really close to this high level against top guys. Hopefully it will be soon on my side,” Khachanov said.
Perhaps, but Nadal is still at the top of the game.
After they finished, Ashe was the site for Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams, Part 30. Serena won 6-1, 6-2 to match the most-lopsided victory ever over her sister. It was their earliest meeting at a Grand Slam in 20 years.
“It’s not easy,” Serena said, despite how easy it looked in a match that lasted just 1 hour, 12 minutes.
“She’s my best friend. She means the world to me. Every time she loses, I feel like I do.”
Earlier, 2017 champion Sloane Stephens betrayed a lot more emotion on that court than she usually shows anywhere, all of the double fist pumps making perfectly clear just how tight and tense things had been during her 6-3, 6-4 win against two-time runner-up Victoria Azarenka.
Stephens, the No. 3 seed, grabbed the last three games after returning from a brief break while the Ashe roof was shut (it was then reopened before Nadal vs. Khachanov).
Stephens went from up a set and 3-1 in the second to down 4-3 when Azarenka took three games in a row. That’s when rain came.
“The man upstairs,” Stephens said, “was looking out for me.”