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Serena Williams beats sister, Venus, in two sets at Wimbledon

 
Serena Williams, left hugs her sister, Venus, after winning their singles match, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Monday. [AP photo]
Serena Williams, left hugs her sister, Venus, after winning their singles match, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Monday. [AP photo]
Published July 7, 2015

LONDON — Decades ago, when the Williams sisters were kids in California, taking tennis lessons from Dad on a municipal court and imagining playing at Grand Slam tournaments one day, it was Venus — older, taller, stronger — who usually beat Serena.

Never a fan of losing to her sibling — who would be? — Serena cheated a tad every so often, lying about whether Venus' shots landed in or out.

"That's the past," Serena jokes now with an eye roll. "I was young."

As professionals, on the sport's biggest stages, Serena has been better, especially lately. On Monday at Centre Court, in the 26th all-Williams contest on tour but first at a major in six years, No. 1-seeded Serena played solidly enough to beat No. 16 Venus 6-4, 6-3 and reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals, closing in on the third leg of a calendar-year Grand Slam.

This matchup between five-time champions at the All England Club was one-sided, done in 68 minutes. It's Serena's sixth win in the past seven matches against Venus, part of a 15-11 edge overall. When it ended, Serena walked calmly, quietly — none of her customary "Come on!" exuberance — to envelop Venus in a long hug.

On Serena's mind, it turns out, was this question: How many installments are left in this one-of-a-kind sibling rivalry?

"I just thought, 'Wow, I'm 33, and she just turned 35. I don't know how many more moments like this we'll have.' I plan on playing for years, but you never know if we'll have the opportunity to face each other," Serena said after they walked off court with matching red racket bags.

"I just took the moment in, and I thought, 'We're at Wimbledon.' I remember when I was 8 years old, we dreamed of this moment, and it was kind of surreal."

Venus' take on the likelihood of future meetings?

"When that moment is over, it will be over," she said, shrugging. "It's not now."

Three of Wednesday's men's quarterfinals are set: Roger Federer against Gilles Simon, Andy Murray against Vasek Pospisil, and Stan Wawrinka against Richard Gasquet.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic dropped the first two sets, then won the next two, before his fourth-round match against Kevin Anderson was suspended because of darkness. They'll play the fifth set today; the winner faces Marin Cilic.

The only trouble the second-seeded Federer encountered during a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 victory against No. 20 Roberto Bautista Agut came at the very end: Federer required six match points.

Simon reached his first quarterfinal at Wimbledon, and first at any major since the 2009 Australian Open, by defeating 2010 Wimbledon runner-up and No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.

Federer is 5-2 in past matches against Simon, who said of the 17-time major champion: "It can be sometimes difficult to face him."

Wawrinka, reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the second year in a row, defeating No. 16 David Goffin, while Gasquet ousted No. 26 Nick Kyrgios 7-5, 6-1, 6-7 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6). Kyrgios appeared to stop trying briefly in the second set, half-heartedly swinging at one serve and walking away as another zipped past.

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"If they decide to fine me," Kyrgios said, "they can fine me."

Murray, who has had right shoulder problems, dulled the massive serve of No. 23 Ivo Karlovic enough to earn a 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win.

Afterward, Murray said about his shoulder: "It feels better than it did three, four days ago, which is positive."