It's going to be a battle between sisters.
Serena Williams, 33, beat a much younger Madison Keys, 19, in a gripping match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York on Sept. 6. The score: 6-3 in both rounds. Williams has had quite an outstanding run this year, winning the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon. If she wins this year's US Open, she bags the elusive Grand Slam title. The next person in her way, her sister Venus.
Of course, this isn't the first time the two sisters face each other in the court. They've done it 26 times in their careers, with Serena getting the upper hand in the scorecard, 15-11. She has also won seven of their last eight matches. Despite the stats, she doesn't discount her next game against Venus. "I think it's more fun than it used to be," Serena said during her presscon for ESPN. "And it's still super intense. She's doing well and she wants to win this. So do I. It's not easy."
For sure, Venus will not make her sister's grand slam dream an easy chase. At 35, her last major title was seven years ago at Wimbledon and she's hungry for her eighth. She's in tiptop shape, coming in from a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Anett Kontaveit. In her presscon, she expressed her desire to win, even if it means no grand slam for Serena.
"I don't think anyone wants to be the spoiler," she said. "I think people love to see history being made. No one is out to be the spoiler, but at the same time, you're focused on winning your match even though the circumstances are really much different than you."
The two go head to head on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Should Serena advance, she will be two matches away from a grand slam. The last player to win the Slam was Steffi Graf in 1988.
