Big sis steps in! Venus stops Serena’s US Open conqueror Roberta Vinci in Wuhan

Venus Williams avenged the big blow her little sis Serena Williams suffered at the hands of Roberta Vinci in the US Open semifinals, by defeating the Italian in the thrilling Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open semis.

Vinci prevented Serena from engraving her name next to Steffi Graf’s by stunning the world No.1 earlier this month in Flushing Meadows and not allowing her to complete a Calendar Slam.

Playing her first tournament after the big victory, Vinci showed that her US Open run was far from just a flash of form, as in Wuhan the world No.18 upset defending champion and third seed Petra Kvitova and backed it up with a quarterfinal win over eighth seed Karolina Pliskova.

In today’s marathon, trying to become just one of few women who have beaten both Williams sisters in the same year, Vinci recovered from a 3-0 initial deficit and took the first set, while in the decider she again complicated things to the seven-time Grand Slam champion, by rallying from 2-5 to a 6-5 lead and even earning a match point before eventually losing in the tiebreak, 5-7 6-2 7-6(4).

Venus’ last obstacle to her second title this season and 47th in her career will be fifth-seeded Garbine Muguruza, who advanced with a 6-4 7-6(5) win over sixth seed Angelique Kerber. (photo: Jimmie48)

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