Sibling rivalry: Serena beats Venus to take the 31st meeting

There was zero interaction between the two, not even a furtive glance, when Venus Williams walked past Serena Williams in the Top Seed Open's warmup area Thursday before their 31st matchup as pros.

Moments later, both headed to the court, each wearing a face covering — Serena sporting a leopard print design, Venus with a light blue medical mask — and were greeted not by the roars of an appreciative audience but basically by silence. Zero fanfare because, well, there are zero fans at the first tennis tournament in the U.S. since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

When the match began, though, everything seemed normal: hard hitting, big serving. Serena came back and won the last four games to beat her older sister, Venus, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a second-round match — 22 1/2 years after the first between the two.

Folks could be seen laying on the ground to peek through the opening at the bottom of the fence at the back of the court.

“It definitely felt more relaxed than the stadium at Wimbledon or at the U.S. Open,” said Serena, who now leads the all-in-the-family series 19-12. ”But it still is not like the practice courts."

When it ended, the siblings simply tapped rackets. No handshake or hug, owing to rules about social distancing. Another sign of the times: There was a “Black Lives Matter” stencil on the wall behind the baseline.

It was a back-and-forth contest, with each woman appearing to move out in front until the other pulled even. Make no mistake: The competitive juices were flowing. In the first set, Serena questioned an overrule by the chair umpire that granted Venus an ace.

“This was a real match with real points and real consequences,” said Venus, who owns seven Grand Slam singles titles, 16 fewer than Serena's 23.

Serena broke right away and led 2-0, but Venus responded by grabbing five games in a row on the way to taking the opening set.