Big sister Venus won the historic battle of the Williams siblings early this morning before wrapping her arms around Serena at the net in a tender embrace saying: "I love you". The reigning champion retained her US Open title with a 6-2 6-4 victory in a match during which Venus controlled much better the awesome power of the biggest hitters in women's tennis.
It was a case of 21-year-old Venus' experience and brain against the raw brawn of 19-year-old Serena, who sprayed 36 unforced errors around Arthur Ashe stadium here at Flushing Meadows. And while the 23,023 spectators desperately tried to cheer Serena into the match the action took an uncannily similar course to the Wimbledon semi-final two years ago when Serena also handed the match to her sister with her wastefulness.
When the action began it was Serena who came out blasting groundstrokes, taking Venus' first service game to four deuces. But once Venus settled it was clear the Wimbledon champion was calmer, more composed and more capable of producing her best form. She broke Serena's serve in the fifth game and again in the seventh, courtesy of a double fault from her younger sister and went on to win the first set in routine fashion.
The pattern appeared to be repeating itself in the second set when Venus broke serve easily in the first game. Her form then mysteriously dipped for a couple of games to allow Serena to break back in the fourth game and there followed two more consecutive breaks of serve as the Venus errors began to flow from her racket.
The girls began to play the best tennis of the match, a fabulous seventh game of spectacular rallies in particular lifting the crowd. Two double faults from Serena at the start of the ninth game, however, allowed Venus to garner the crucial break and she went on to clinch her second successive title and her fourth Grand Slam title in the last six.
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
