Three Thoughts: Serena beats Venus in all-Williams 4th-rounder at Wimbledon

Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Three thoughts on the outcome:

1. Most great tennis players are known for one shot they hit better than any other. For Serena Williams, that’s her serve. But in watching these greats over two-week stretches at the Slams, we often see the other shots they’re (extremely) skilled in. For Serena Williams, that’s her backhand.

Serena’s compact take-back—followed by a vicious follow-through—makes her two-hander ideal for grass-court combat. She used it to great effect today against her sister. It helped minimize the impact of Venus’ best shot, her serve, in such a way that it essentially decided the match. Serena won half of all her return points (Venus, by comparison won just 27 percent of hers). That’s a massive percentage, and it put even more pressure on Venus to hold serve. She failed to do so four times.

Serena’s backhand was also a game-changer in rallies. The exchanges were beautifully brutal—any opportunity that presented itself was taken, and usually the result was a winner. Serena struck 36 of those (Venus had 15), many with her backhand. Hit crosscourt or down the line, the Serena’s backhands sounded like leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July. In total, she recorded 11 backhand winners (against 10 backhand errors) to seven forehand winners. There’s a lot more to this match-up than just numbers, but statistics like that can’t be ignored.

2. The mental element of the Venus vs. Serena match-up is just as intriguing as the physical battle they wage, for obvious reasons. Thankfully, we were treated to a contest in which both sisters seemed to bring out the best in each other. That Serena won in straight sets shows just how high a level of tennis her best represents.

This may have been Serena at her most steady and determined in any major match this year; there were no lulls or crises that have become part and parcel with her success. Venus, for her part, answered with shotmaking that was necessarily risky but often rewarding. That hasn’t always happened—I recall their match in Charleston three years ago, perhaps their worst-ever duel, in which Serena rolled to a cover-your-eyes easy 6-1, 6-2 win—but in this, only their third meeting since 2009, we saw something competitive and compelling, despite the straight-set score.

“It's never easy to play someone you love and care about, but you just have to stay focused,” Serena told the BBC after the match. “It’s hard to get excited about beating someone you root for all the time, but that's the nature of the competition.

“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.”

Serena surely knew that she couldn’t afford to give this particular opponent a late lead, as she’s done so often at the majors this year. I thought it was a good sign for Serena that, after an impressive Venus hold for 4-5, she served out the first set without drama; it was another positive that she backed up her first break in the second set (for a 4-3 lead) with a comfortable hold at 15. Venus finally cracked with a loose service game to end the match, proving Serena the winner on both the physical and mental fronts.

3. What’s next for both Williamses? I’m curious to see. For Serena, I would be shocked to not see some type of letdown in her upcoming quarterfinal. No matter who she plays—Victoria Azarenka or Belinda Bencic—it comes just one day after this difficult test, and she’ll feel more pressure as the heavy favorite. Then again, I would be shocked to not see Serena emerge as the winner.

For Venus, she’s 35, but she’s still probably one of the Top 10 grass-court players in the world. I haven’t gotten the impression that she’s ready to say goodbye to the game just yet, and her health seems to have become less of issue of late. But we may only see her at the All England Club once more, with the 2016 Olympics a milepost she’s referenced before. Hopefully, she’ll be on Centre Court for more than just one match next year.