"I don't think Venus played that great"- When Serena Williams opened up on her first win over Venus Williams
Serena Williams and Venus Williams are two icons of tennis, and the two sisters shared a fierce rivalry that started in 1998.
Venus won the first three meetings between the two, including the 1999 Miami Open final. Serena secured her first win over her sister in the title clash of the 1999 Grand Slam Cup in Munich. She won 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to win her fifth WTA career singles title.
While speaking in her press conference, Serena Williams was asked how she felt about winning a set 6-1 against her sister. She claimed that she perceived the match like any other and that she cruised throughout the fixture.
"No. I mean, you're out there, you're just playing. It's like any other opponent. I was cruising today. I haven't played this well since I don't know when. It was a good match for me," Serena Williams said.
The then-18-year-old also said that she felt a little sorry for beating Venus and that the win was a hard one to take.
"Yeah, naturally. I've never actually beat Venus. I didn't know how it feels. It's actually kind of tough to take this win. I actually have had a win over everyone in the Top 10. I never had a win over Venus, so," Serena said.
Serena added that her sister did not play great on the day and predicted that the two would meet each other a lot in the future.
"Just, Good job. It was a good match. It was the first time I ever had a win over Venus. I guess it was exciting. It's just something that - we're going to play each other a lot, it's going to go back and forth a lot. I don't think Venus played that great today. This is the first time I actually played pretty well," she said.
Serena Williams and Venus Williams locked horns on 31 occasions
Serena Williams and Venus Williams locked horns on 31 occasions, with the former leading 19-12 in the head-to-head.
The two played some thrilling encounters against one another and squared off in a total of nine Grand Slam finals. Serena won seven of those, while Venus came out on top at the 2001 US Open and the 2008 Wimbledon Championships.
The last meeting between the two sisters in a Grand Slam final came at the 2017 Australian Open, which Serena won 6-4, 6-4.
The final encounter between the Williams sisters came in the second round of the Top Seed Open in Lexington, with Serena winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.