Venus Williams wants to play sister Serena in the quarter-finals of the US Open even if it means ending her sibling’s hopes of a calendar Grand Slam.
Venus eased past highly-rated Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic for a 6-3 6-4 win and now stands just one round away from a potential all-Williams clash in the last eight.
It would be the first meeting between the sisters at Flushing Meadows since the 2008 quarter-final, when Serena edged two tie-breaks on her way to clinching the title.
The stakes this year, however, are even greater given Serena is bidding to become the first player since 1988 to win all four grand slams in a single year, and the fourth female to achieve the feat in history.
Venus lost to her younger sister in straight sets at Wimbledon in July but the seven-time major champion insists she would relish a reunion in New York.
“Of course I have thought about it and I would like us to have that moment so we can see how it is,” said Williams, who will now play Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in the last 16.
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“We both have to get there. I think we both have a great opportunity to do so, but there are no givens.”
Venus is the oldest player in the US Open draw at 35 but her victory over Bencic, 17 years her junior, was as dynamic as it was impressive.
Bencic furthered her growing reputation in August when she became one of only two players to beat Serena this year, but on Friday the world number 12 struggled to cope with her opponent’s pace and power.
“Today I think she just played too fast for me,” Bencic said. “Her serve was very good. I didn’t have so many chances on the return.
“I think I didn’t serve so bad. I could hold my serve a couple of times, but just not in important games. She was just too aggressive and I couldn’t really find my game and my rhythm.”
Joining Venus in the fourth round is Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, who battled to a 7-6 (11/9) 4-6 6-3 win over Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova.