For the first time in four years, Venus and Serena Williams returned to the US Open court together Friday night in Queens.
The legendary sisters were set to reunite earlier this summer at Wimbledon; however, Serena — who, at 44, is in the midst of a comeback after several years away from the sport — was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Friday night, the two walked onto the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium to a massive ovation from the crowd.
GROUP OF INFLUENCERS FORCES PAUSE DURING US OPEN MATCH WITH CRINGEWORTHY PHOTOSHOOT IN SUITE
Serena’s jacket listed her US Open titles, including the pair of doubles titles that she and Venus won in 1999 and 2009.
Their opponents were Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Australian Maya Joint, who, at 20 years old, was just a toddler when the Williams sisters won the 2009 US Open.
Venus and Serena Williams walk onto the US Open court to a massive ovation. (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)
The first set was fairly back and forth to start, but Chan and Joint pulled ahead to win it 6-3.
The Williams sisters responded and started the second set strong, but it went the distance, needing a seven-point tie-breaker to decide the winner.
In the tie-breaker, Venus and Serena had multiple opportunities to put Chan and Joint away, but they fought back. Finally, after the scare, the Williamses clinched the set to keep the match going.
While they were respectful throughout the match, there was no question that the overwhelming majority of the crowd was behind the sisters, erupting after every point.
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The tennis greats battled back against an impressive pairing that is only in their fourth event together to force a decisive tie-breaker in the final set.
Venus and Serena Williams delivered a thriller against Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint, but came up short in heartbreaking fashion. (Photo by KENA BETANCUR / AFP))
The Williamses took the first five points in a row to jump out to an early lead; however, Joint and Chan took the next three.
Joint and Chan battled back to take the lead, and in the end, they walked away with the win in the match that was just a shade over three hours.
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In the end, it was a fantastic three-set thriller, 6–3, 6–7(6), 7–6(10), that showed the Williams sisters — already all-time greats of the sport — are still a force to be reckoned with.
