U.S. Open: Serena Williams defeats sister Venus in 3 sets

If Serena Williams would feel sympathy for any opponent standing in the way of her pursuit of tennis' first true grand slam in 27 years, it might very well be her sister Venus.

Still, no way was Serena going to let anyone, or anything, stop her on this night, even if she found herself in a mid-match lull while facing her older sibling in the U.S. Open quarter-finals.

Moving two matches from history, top-seeded Serena got all she could handle from 23rd-seeded Venus before moving onto the semifinals at Flushing Meadows with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory Tuesday in the 27th installment of the unique Williams vs. Williams rivalry.

When it ended, they met at the net for a hug, with a smiling Venus wrapping both arms around Serena.

"She's the toughest player I've ever played in my life and the best person I know," Serena said in an on-court interview. "It's going against your best friend and at the same time going against the greatest competitor, for me, in women's tennis."

Serena is 16-11 in their matches, taking seven of their last eight meetings. She leads 9-5 in majors and 3-2 at the U.S. Open. Of greater significance is this: Serena can still become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to collect all four grand slam titles in a calendar year.

And if she can win what would be her fourth U.S. Open in a row, and seventh overall, she would equal Graf with 22 major championships, the most in the professional era and second-most ever behind Margaret Court's 24.

Well-known folks such as Donald Trump — who was booed when shown on video screens — Oprah Winfrey and Kim Kardashian dotted the teeming stands, and the action under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium often was of high quality.

The sisters combined for 57 winners (Serena had more, 35) and only 37 unforced errors (Venus had fewer, 15).

Both pounded serves fast, very fast, each topping 120 mph. Both returned well, oh so well, each managing to put into play at least one serve at more than 115 mph by the other.

Venus often attempted to end baseline exchanges quickly. Serena showed tremendous touch by using drop shots, one paired with a backhand passing winner, another with a perfectly curled lob.

Serena took control of the opening set, grabbing its last four games. Suddenly, though, she showed some jitters early in the second, dumping a slow-for-her second serve into the net to fall behind 3-1, part of a five-game run for Venus to even the match at a set apiece.

They had played 63 intense minutes, so aware of each other's tactics and tendencies, and now it was going to all come down to one set.

At 35, the oldest woman to enter the tournament, Venus had her own reasons for wanting to win, of course. She hadn't reached the semifinals at any grand slam tournament since the 2010 U.S. Open, and might have considered this her last, best chance to collect an eighth major singles championship of her own.

True to her word, their mother, Oracene Price, did not attend the match. And neither of her daughters betrayed much in the way of emotion.

When Serena, who is 15 months younger, earned a key break to lead 2-0 in the third thanks to a down-the-line backhand winner that landed in a corner, she gritted her teeth, held clenched fists near her head and leaned forward, holding the pose. She did not shake those fists or scream or jump, the way she usually does against other women.

And when she got to match point when a shot by Venus sailed long, Serena dropped to a knee behind the baseline, her back to her sister.

Serena then smacked a 107 mph ace, her 12th, to end it.

On Thursday, she will play unseeded Roberta Vinci of Italy, who moved into the first grand slam semifinal of her career at age 32 by outlasting Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

Tested Djokovic advances

Novak Djokovic's U.S. Open quarter-final was suddenly tied at a set apiece, and he tore off his shirt as he headed to the sideline. He sat, halfheartedly tried to smash his racket, then began screaming.

Hardly the first time, nor likely to be the last, that Djokovic let out a little emotion during a match. Whatever gets you through the day, right?

Gathering himself after getting pushed around a bit by an opponent with an unconventional style, Djokovic wound up reaching the semifinals at Flushing Meadows for the ninth consecutive year with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory over 18th-seeded Feliciano Lopez that finished a little after 1 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

For all of that success getting to the closing days of the U.S. Open, though, Djokovic has one championship to show for it, in 2011. His other eight major titles came at either the Australian Open or Wimbledon.

Still, the No. 1-ranked Serb is certainly consistent: He has now made it to the semifinals at 22 of the past 23 major tournaments.

On Friday, he will take on defending champion Marin Cilic, who was unfazed by wasting a big lead or match points while holding on to beat 19th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4 earlier Tuesday.

"A big mental fight," the Croatian called it, "especially after losing that fourth set."

Djokovic has never lost to Cilic, winning all 13 of their matches.

The two men's quarter-finals on the other half of the men's draw are Wednesday: No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 12 Richard Gasquet of France, and No. 5 Stan Wawrinka vs. No. 15 Kevin Anderson of South Africa.

Lopez's loss dropped him to 0-4 in Grand Slam quarterfinals; this was his first time that far in New York.