Venus Williams defeated Serena Williams for the first time in nearly four years, getting past her younger sister 6-3, 6-4 on Monday night in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
It is Venus’ first victory over Serena since August 2014 at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, and the first matchup where Venus was the higher-ranked player since the sisters met at Bangalore in March 2008.
“I’m just lucky that I’ve played more matches than her right now,” Venus said in a post-match on-court interview. “She just came roaring back. I had chances for the match to be over, but it wasn’t.”
It was their earliest meeting since a 17-year-old Venus beat 16-year-old Serena in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open. They played Monday night for the first time since last year’s Australian Open final when a pregnant Serena won her 23rd Grand Slam title.
“I definitely know her well, but she definitely played a little bit better than she normally does,” Serena said. “She served very consistently. She just did everything great.”
Serena, who was unseeded in the tournament, still leads Venus 17-12 in head-to-head meetings. She played in her first WTA tournament after a 14-month layoff for the birth of her first child.
“It’s different, I haven’t played in over a year. It’s definitely not less disappointing, I wish it was. But then I wouldn’t be who I am. … I just have a long way to go and I look forward to the journey,” Serena added.
