Serena and Venus Move Onward at Open
Serena Williams won her 50th match of 2015 on Wednesday at the U.S. Open, and in the process, took one step closer to history. The world number one got past Kiki Bertens of The Netherlands, 7-6(5), 6-3, and is through to round three in Flushing Meadows.
Up next for Serena is fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, a 6-2, 6-1 winner on the day over CoCo Vandeweghe.
“I love her personality. It really shows in her dresses and the clothes and the outfits,” said Serena of Mattek-Sands. “I love her spirit. She's had a lot of ups and downs throughout her whole career. She's just incredibly positive. It's so inspiring for someone like me. So I love that about her. And she has a really aggressive game. You know, I just don't think there's anyone on tour that says, ‘I don't like Bethanie Mattek.’ I her don't think that exists.”
With six U.S. Open singles titles, Serena is tied with Chris Evert in the Open Era, and is attempting to join Evert as the only woman in Open Era to win the U.S. Open four years running (1975-1978).
Serena is 2-0 lifetime against Mattek-Sands, including a win at Wimbledon in 2008 and in 2006 at the Cincinnati Masters.
“She's playing great. I mean, right now, she's on a mission to get a record, and I'm here playing my game,” said Mattek-Sands of Serena. “I think it's going to be a battle out there. I'm going to do my best. Right now, I'm giving myself the best chance I can to play well. That's all I can ask for.”
Serena is just five wins shy of capturing the U.S. Open title and a Calendar Grand Slam, a feat that has not been accomplished since 1988 when Steffi Graf reached the mark.
Not to be outdone by her little sister, Venus Williams took the courts of Arthur Ashe Stadium to begin the night matches and also scored a win to advance to round number three, a 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 win over another American, world number 73 Irina Falconi. The 35-year-old Venus, the oldest competitor in the draw, did not have an easy road Wednesday night, needed nearly two-and-a-half-hours for the win, firing 35 winners offset by 47 unforced errors, while recording six aces against five double faults.
“She really competed well and played a great tie-breaker, Venus said of Falconi. “I was really impressed with those dropshot returns off her serve. It was insane. Just great hands.”
Venus is making her 17th appearance at the U.S. Open, the most of any player in the draw, and is a two-time champ, having won back-to-back U.S. Open titles in 2000 (defeating Lindsey Davenport in the finals) and the following year in 2001, defeating her sister Serena in the finals. In her Open debut in 1997, the unseeded Venus came in ranked 66th in the world and finished runner-up to Martina Hingis.
Speaking of Hingis, a protégé of her and her mother, Melanie, the 12th-seeded Belinda Bencic, is up next for Venus. Bencic was a 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-3 winner Wednesday afternoon over Misaki Doi of Japan.
Making her U.S. Open debut last year, Bencic reached the quarterfinals and in August beat a series of former Grand Slam champions or finalists, including Serena in winning the Rogers Cup title in Toronto.
“Obviously I never won against her yet,” said Bencic of Venus. “I played my first WTA match against her, which was a great experience. Now I really want to win. I feel like I can have a good plan when I go on the court. If I feel good, I think it can be a very interesting match. I mean, of course, she's a great player. She hits the ball very hard. It will be very difficult for me, but we will see.”
