In sports, it's not unusual for hyped-up individual matchups to disappoint _ just ask anyone who's blown hard-earned money on a subpar pay-per-view event.
But that certainly was not the case in central Kentucky on Thursday.
In a highly anticipated contest under highly unusual circumstances, two of the most iconic figures in the history of professional tennis put on an absolute show. Serena Williams and Venus Williams went toe-to-toe for two hours and 19 minutes in the second round of the Top Seed Open at Top Seed Tennis Club in Nicholasville, with younger sister Serena claiming the victory, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
With the match tied 4-4 in the final set, Serena blasted a vicious forehand from deep behind the baseline, screaming "Come on!" as the shot landed just inbounds to give her a 5-4 edge and put her in the driver's seat. Serena, the tournament's No. 1 seed who is No. 9 in the WTA rankings, had 14 service aces on the afternoon and broke her sister's serve five times.
It was the 31st time since 1998 the siblings faced off as professionals, but the first time they'd done so in a venue void of fans. Spectators are barred from the $225,000 Women's Tennis Association tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic, so the Williams sisters battled in front of their coaches and a smattering of WTA and Top Seed staff members. There were no claps or cheers to punctuate a well-placed shot or frenzied rally, of which there were many.
Asked afterward if the unusual environment made the match feel more like practice than serious competition, Venus firmly rejected the idea.
"No. This was a real match with real points and real consequences," she told the media during a Zoom teleconference.
Serena, 38, now owns a 19-12 advantage in the series. She's won two in a row and five of the last six meetings between the pair and now has an 8-4 edge in three-set matches against her sister.
Venus, 40, last beat Serena at the Indian Wells Masters in 2018. Months later Serena returned the favor, defeating Venus in the U.S. Open while she was pregnant with her daughter, Alexis. Thursday marked the first meeting between the sisters since Serena gave birth.
"I feel like today I turned it up in the last two games," Serena said during a teleconference. "I think Venus is playing really, really, really good. I feel like it was a very high-quality match. It was a lot of long points and (Venus was) running me around and then at one point it was just big serves ... We both started serving really well and we were both returning well. She was making some great forehands."
Before the match the duo walked onto the court together, both wearing masks, amid silence. They spoke to each other near the center court net and shared a laugh before receiving instructions from an official, then settled in for another edition of one of the most fascinating rivalries in sports.
Venus, who's No. 67 in the WTA rankings, struggled with her serve early on and fell behind 2-0 in the first set, but quickly righted the ship. Routinely deploying a blistering forehand strike, Venus won five straight games to take a 5-2 lead and went on to claim the first set.
After the match, Venus discussed the challenging road she drew in the tournament's 32-player singles field. In the first round, she beat former world's No. 1-ranked player and two-time major champion Victoria Azarenka.
"Honestly, I'm playing well. I don't think I've ever had a tougher draw in my life," Venus said. "I basically played two finals in a row, so it's definitely an unbelievable experience to start the season this way."
With her third service ace of the match, Serena took a 3-2 lead in the second set. She won four of the last five games in the set to even up the match.
Both sisters struggled at times with the oppressive heat. Before the final set, Venus went into the club's indoor facility for a break while Serena waited in a chair adjacent to the court. Players are permitted to pause the action for up to 10 minutes when "heat rules" are in effect, as they were on Thursday. Venus emerged from the indoor facility after eight minutes, discarded a banana peel after apparently enjoying a snack then hit the court for the finale.
After the sisters split the first four games of the third set, Venus won the next two to pull ahead 4-2. The set was again knotted at 4-4 before Serena pulled away.
"I forgot I was down 2-4, so that's a good thing. That's when I'm doing good, when I'm not focusing on the score," Serena said. "I needed to come back and start winning some of these tight matches."
Serena Williams will meet either No. 116 Shelby Rogers or No. 120 Leylah Fernandez in Friday's quarterfinals. Rogers and Fernandez were scheduled to face off Thursday night.
