SERENA Williams equaled her most lopsided victory in 30 professional meetings with sister Venus and beat her 6-1 6-2 on Saturday in the third round of the US Open.
Serena shook off an early ankle injury to win seven straight games and take hold of her most dominant achievement since she gave birth to her daughter Olympia a year ago.
The sisters' earliest encounter with a grand slam in 20 years was early, with Venus unable to do anything to undermine the power of Serena, even after the crowd desperately tried to get behind her early in the second set.
They had not played so early in a big hall since Venus won in the second round of the Australian Open 1998 in their first encounter as pros, and only once in the next two decades had won so victorious.
Serena won in 2013 by the same score in a semifinal in Charleston, but today it was easily the most one-sided meeting during a grand slam. Prior to this clash, the most dominant big win was Venus's 6-2 6-4 victory in the 2001 US Open final.
In her on-court interview, Serena said it was the "best match" she had played since she returned to tennis after becoming a mother. But she was not happy with that and refused to celebrate after the game while she was thinking about the uncomfortable situation.
The mother-of-one was all class after securing her passage through to the fourth round, praising her sister and discussing what it meant to share with her court.
"It's not easy (Venus play) She's my best friend She means the world to me and supports my career so every time she loses, I feel like I'm doing it," Serena said. "It is a tournament and we all know that there is more to life than to play each other and just play tennis.
"I will love her all my heart and she is the reason that I am here." She is the only reason I am still here, so I owe everything to her.
"I hope my father has not looked, I mean, it's his two daughters who play each other, it's not easy, I know he's probably just as nervous as we are."
Serena, the number 17 seed, will then face Kaia Kanepi from Estonia, who knocked out top-ranked Simona Halep in the first round.
Serena, who turns 37 next month, leads the direct record with her sister 18-12, including an 11-5 record at grand slams. But they were not expected to be that easy, not with Serena who still worked back in shape after returning to the tour.
But this was the type of tennis that brought her 23 big singles titles-the ability to hit balls across the field and run the rare shots that looked like they might pass her by.
"This was my best match since I came back," she said. "I've worked for it, I've worked really hard for the last three or four months, that's life, you have to keep working hard, whatever the ups and downs you have, that's what I did."
Venus agreed that Serena was on a different level and said, "I think it's the best match she ever played against me."
She sent 10 aces to only one for Venus, the number 16 seed that might have been a bit dry after two tough matches to start the tournament, including a three-set against 2004 US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in her opener.
Serena had it easier in the first two rounds, although that was expected to change under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The sisters had combined eight titles at Flushing Meadows, six of Serena, and each had the other defeated in a US Open final.
But Serena had not been defeated this night, and the discouraged look at Venus's face over a large part of the contest indicated she seemed to realize it.
– with AP
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