Lexington (United States) (AFP)
In the duel of the Williams sisters, the logic of the classification was respected. Serena (9th) won after a long fight against her eldest, Venus (67th), Thursday, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and thus won her place for the quarterfinals. Lexington tournament final.
At 40 years old, Venus Williams will have sold her skin dearly, like the first set where yet broken from the start by her younger sister, she then chained 5 games in a row to come and win in 41 minutes.
In the second round, the standoff between the two sisters lasted until the 6th game, where Serena ended up, after several attempts, by making the break, to then win the set.
The decisive round then ended up turning to the advantage of the N.1 seed of the tournament, at the end of a game of more than 2h20, where there was a lot of waste and face-offs conceded. from either side.
"I wanted to win this match to consolidate my game and gain confidence," commented Serena Williams, whose only title gleaned since she returned to competition in early 2018 following her pregnancy dates back to last January. , in Auckland, just before the lockdown period linked to the coronavirus.
“Honestly, I didn't really come here to win this tournament for the first time, but to make a few matches. I hadn't had such a long time away from tennis since my baby was born,” she said. Explain.
In 31 meetings between the two sisters, Serena, 38, now leads widely with 19 wins against twelve for Venus.
"But this match is in the five where it was very close between us," said the younger admiring her elder sister: "she played amazingly. I don't really know how I was able to push her away. at the end".
Serena Williams, who is making her return to competition at Lexington after several months of hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, will face for a place in the semi-finals either her compatriot Shelby Rogers (116th world) or the Canadian Leyla Fernandez (120th ).
© 2020 AFP