Serena Williams wins battle with sister Venus at the U.S. Open

One day short of a year after giving birth to a daughter and experiencing life-threatening complications, Serena Williams gave a masterful performance that showed she is ready to again challenge for tennis supremacy.

Displaying all of her old power and more precision than she has since she returned to tournament play in April, she routed her older sister Venus 6-1, 6-2 in a third-round match at the U.S. Open on Friday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was the 30^th time they had played each other as professionals and was the most lopsided result in their Grand Slam meetings. Serena holds an 18-12 head-to-head lead over her sister.

Serena, dressed in a black, one-sleeved dress with a flouncy skirt, rolled her ankle in the second game of the first set and took a medical timeout following the third game but showed no ill effects from that injury. She fired five aces and broke Venus’ serve twice in the first set and twice again in the second set.

The Compton-raised sisters never like to compete against each other because they are so close and because they were raised to put family before everything else. As usual, they never made eye contact before or during the match. During breaks between games, Serena often sat with her eyes closed, focusing on the task at hand. The crowd seemed to take Venus’ side, especially as Serena’s domination became apparent. Serena’s husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, sat courtside and led the cheers for his wife.

At the end, after Serena fired a forehand winner on her second match point, the sisters approached the net and embraced. Venus left the court quickly, while Serena stayed to wave to fans and participate in an interview. She called her performance her best match since she returned to competition but said it took an emotional toll.

“It’s not easy. She’s my best friend. she means the world to me. She’s supportive of my career and I’m supportive of her career,” Serena said. “Every time she loses I feel like I do. It’s not very easy but it’s a tournament and we know there’s more to life than playing each other and playing tennis.

“I love her with all my heart. She’s the reason I’m here. She’s the only reason I’m still out here. After God, I definitely owe everything to her.”

She also thanked her father, Richard, who launched the sisters’ tennis career when they were youngsters playing on public courts in and around Compton.