US Open 2015: Venus is the toughest player I’ve ever played, says Serena Williams

World No. 1 Serena Williams’ quest to complete a Grand Slam calendar is still alive after defeating her older sister Venus 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarterfinal of the US Open at Flushing Meadows. Serena successfully denied Venus from getting her first US Open title since 2001, and boosted her own chances of becoming the first player since 1988 to achieve a Grand Slam calendar. But the 33-year-old Serena admitted Venus was the “toughest” player she has ever played in her illustrious tennis career.

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

Serena, who is attempting a fourth straight US Open title and a fifth Grand Slam win, did not hold back against Venus in their final eight round match in front of 22,000 people at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The younger Williams took the upper hand in the latest installment of the Williams’ “sibling rivalry”, but the top-seeded Serena got all she could handle from 23rd-seeded Venus before moving on to the semifinals of the tournament.

Serena closed out the first set and looked to cruise past her older sister. But Venus made it clear she would not just be a speed bump on Serena’s road to victory, serving better and playing almost error-free to snatch the second set 6-1.

The three-time US Open winner raised her game in the third set and broke Venus’ first service game of the final set. The match was far from a walk over, but Serena’s dominance proved too much against Venus, who is now 11-16 in their career matches.

The two sisters embraced at the net after the match, showing respect to each other’s status in the tennis world. Serena said her quarterfinal victory was not an easy one, but she also admitted that she did not think of Venus as her sister in their star-studded match at the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.

“When I’m playing her I don’t think of her as my sister," Serena said, the USA Today reported. "When you’re in the moment, you don’t really think about it. We’ve trained our whole lives for this moment.”

Serena will face Italy’s Roberta Vinci in the semifinal round on Friday. Vinci, a multiple Grand Slam champion in the doubles category, will be playing her first Grand Slam semifinal.

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