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Simona Halep defeated Venus Williams in straight sets in the third round of the Australian Open, and her reward is a fourth-round match against none other than Serena Williams.

There wasn’t much between Halep and Venus early on in each set, but Halep pulled away after a few games both times—she won five games in a row from 1-2 in the first set, and four games in a row from 2-3 in the second set, to prevail 6-2, 6-3, finishing the match with a forehand winner up the line.

“It’s been a great match. I think I played my best match here this year,” said Halep, who had been pushed to three sets in both of her first two rounds, first by Kaia Kanepi and then by Sofia Kenin.

“It’s always a big challenge to play one of the Williams sisters, so I’m very happy with this match.”

Halep finished with a +9 differential of winners to unforced errors, 21 to 12. Venus had the bigger numbers in both categories, but she also finished with a -9 differential—24 winners to 33 unforced errors.

Simona Halep dismantles Venus to set up blockbuster against Serena

Simona Halep dismantles Venus to set up blockbuster against Serena

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Serena booked her spot in the fourth round earlier in the day, cruising past 18-year-old Ukrainian up-and-comer Dayana Yastremska on Rod Laver Arena after an hour and seven minutes, 6-2, 6-1.

In her post-match press conference, Serena was asked about potentially playing Halep.

“I honestly would love to face the world No. 1,” the 23-time Grand Slam champion said.

“At the same time, I would love for Venus to win. Either way, I’ll be ready for either opponent.”

Serena has dominated Halep in their head-to-head series, 8-1, but their only two meetings at Grand Slams went to three sets, with Serena winning in the second round of Wimbledon in 2011, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, and again in a grueling quarterfinal match at the US Open in 2016, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Halep’s lone win was a 6-0, 6-2 shocker in the round-robin stage of the WTA Finals in 2014.

Only four players have ever beaten both Williams sisters at the same Grand Slam tournament: Martina Hingis (2001 Australian Open), Justine Henin (2007 US Open), Kim Clijsters (2009 US Open) and Karolina Pliskova (2016 US Open). Only Henin and Clijsters went on to win the tournament.

Serena has 16 career wins over No. 1s, the second-most in WTA history (Martina Navratilova had 18).

“I have nothing to lose,” Halep declared. “It won’t be easy. I just have to try to give my best. I’ll be playing against a great champion, so it’ll be a big challenge for me, but I’m ready to face it.”

Simona Halep dismantles Venus to set up blockbuster against Serena

Simona Halep dismantles Venus to set up blockbuster against Serena

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