In the 31st all-Williams clash and first at an International-level tournament, Serena battled past elder sister Venus 3-6 6-3 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the inaugural Top Seed Open presented by Bluegrass Orthopaedics in Lexington, Kentucky.
Serena opened the second-round match with a 2-0 lead, but Venus, wearing her new EleVen Bold collection, roared back by winning six of the next seven games to take a one-set lead. After winning the second set without facing a break point, Serena rallied from 4-2 down in the decider to increase her head-to-head record in this historic rivalry to 19-12. In the thrilling two hours and 19 minutes of the match, the top-seeded Serena hit 14 aces.
In the quarterfinals, Serena’s opponent will be either Canadian qualifier Leylah Fernandez or American wildcard Shelby Rogers.
