Williams sisters meeting once again
NEW YORK — Venus Williams figures matches against her sister would be much less stressful if they weren't both elite players.
"If I had a sister and she wasn't very good, then it would be just not really a big deal because I would beat her," she said Monday at the U.S. Open, after she and Serena assured a quarterfinal showdown.
But Serena wouldn't change anything about their tennis prowess.
"I'm glad we're both pretty good at it, because I always use her," she said. "If I'm going somewhere and they give me a nice gift I'm like, 'Well, my sister, she's not here, but she would love that.' If she was no good then I wouldn't be able to do that. And I always keep it. She doesn't even know about it half the time.
"I guess maybe she'll know about it now."
Both easily won their fourth-round matches to set up their 17th meeting as pros. Venus, seeded seventh, beat No. 9 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 6-3. No. 4 Serena defeated wild-card entrant Severine Bremond of France 6-2, 6-2.
The winner will earn bragging rights — at least temporarily. Each has won eight times in the all-Williams tilts. That includes 10 matchups at major tournaments, with each posting five victories.
The two would prefer to meet later than the quarterfinals, just as they did at Wimbledon, when Venus prevailed in the final. Considering how well both are playing right now, it's not hard to envision that this match could determine who goes on to win the Open.
"I definitely think it's possible, but this is only the quarterfinal," Serena said. "So, you know, whoever wins this will be going on to the semis and fighting."
Wednesday will mark the first time since 2003 that they've squared off at consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. "Classic" and "unique" are the words Serena used to describe their matchups.
What about "difficult?"
"No, not anymore," she said. "No. Just another match, another possibility for me."
Also advancing Monday were No. 6 Dinara Safina, who defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-5, 6-0, and No. 16 Flavia Pennetta, who beat No. 32 Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 6-0.
In men's action, No. 1 Rafael Nadal held off 55th-ranked Sam Querrey, a 20-year-old Californian who never before had been to the fourth round at a major tournament. Querrey hung in during extended baseline rallies, and briefly led in the third set, before losing 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
Nadal owns four titles from the French Open and one from Wimbledon, but he's never been as far as the U.S. Open semifinals. He'll try to take care of that when he meets another unseeded American, Mardy Fish, in the quarterfinals.
Also advancing was No. 17 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who ended the run of Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese man to reach the U.S. Open's fourth round in the 40-year Open era. Del Potro won the contest between teenagers 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 for his 23rd consecutive victory.
Del Potro will face No. 6 Andy Murray, who beat 10th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. Tempers flared when the two played in Rome in May.
Murray claimed del Potro insulted his mother during a first-round match. Judy Murray provided vocal support for her son from the stands.
Del Potro nearly hit Murray in the head with a ball in the second set. The Argentine retired while trailing 5-7, 6-4, 1-0.
Murray was asked Monday if he was surprised del Potro hadn't tried to clear the air.
"I've known him since we were really young," Murray said. "Doesn't really bother me. I wasn't great friends with him before."
