CHARLESTON: Reigning US Open champion Sam Stosur put the latest matchup in the Williams sisters’ sibling rivalry on hold by rallying past Venus Williams at the Family Circle Cup.
The second-seeded Stosur won five of the last six games of the match for a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory in the quarterfinals on a chilly, windy Friday at the season’s first clay-court event. Stosur now has a chance of knocking out both Williams sisters on consecutive days when she meets Serena in Saturday’s semifinals.
While Stosur had never beaten Venus Williams before, she has had success against Serena. Stosur beat her to win the US Open title last September and won their only match on clay at the 2010 French Open quarters.
“For sure, clay’s not my favorite surface,” said Stosur, the 2010 Family Circle champion. “It’s always tough playing Serena no matter where.”
Serena Williams advanced when opponent Sabine Lisicki twisted her left ankle early in the opening set and had to withdraw after five games.
The buzz for a Williams’ sisters showdown had grown all week as the two Americans moved through the draw. Both came into Friday without losing a set and appeared ready to settle some family business at the Family Circle Tennis Center. This was Venus Williams’ first clay-court tournament since 2010 and her second event since a bout of autoimmune disease Sjogren’s Syndrome kept her out of the game since last summer’s US Open. Williams won four times last week at the Sony Ericsson Open and had carried that success forward into the Family Circle quarterfinals. She could not get past Stosur, though, and won’t play again until next month in Madrid. “I have come so far, so far from the US Open,” she said. (Agencies)