Serena Williams outsmashes sister Venus to book berth in Wimbledon quarter-finals
Top-ranked American is now just three wins away from her fourth successive grand slam
Serena Williams stands three wins away from hoisting her fourth successive grand slam title after trumping elder sister Venus 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon yesterday.
A contest featuring two women who between them have hoisted the Rosewater Dish 10 times should have been a blockbuster, but turned out to be yet another awkward anti-climax - as has been the case in their previous 25 meetings.
The 33-year-old hit 36 winners and 10 aces to secure her 14th win in 26 meetings with her older sister, but it was clear neither sibling enjoyed it.
I thought back to when we were kids dreaming of moments like this, and it feels a little surreal
"It's never easy to play someone you love and care about, but you just have to stay focused. It's hard to get excited about beating someone you root for all the time, but that's the nature of the competition," said Serena.
"I served well today, and that helped me to come through. It doesn't get any easier playing against Venus and I was thinking 'I'm 33 and she's 35. I just wondered how many more times we will get to do this, especially at Wimbledon?' I thought back to when we were kids dreaming of moments like this, and it feels a little surreal."
Caroline Wozniacki, the Danish fifth seed, blew her chance to make the last eight with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Garbine Muguruza.
In the men's draw, Swiss fourth seed Stan Wawrinka beat Belgium's David Goffin 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, setting up a quart-final against Frenchman Richard Gasquet. Gasquet, a semi-finalist in 2007, defeated 26th seeded Australian Nick Kyrgios 7-5, 6-1, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (8-6).