It has been seventeen years since Venus Williams withdrew from a semi-final against her younger sister at Indian Wells. While Serena went on to win the tournament that year, the sisters boycotted the tournament for fourteen years. Serena returned in 2015 and Venus joined her in 2016. Finally, in 2018, the sisters were set to meet again. Because the tournament is only Serena’s first since taking time to have a baby, she entered the draw unseeded and met her older sister in the third round.

The crowd did not have a clear favorite, cheering enthusiastically for both sisters. The players themselves clearly felt the pressure, each having expressed frequently over the years how much they dread having to play each other.

Venus won the coin toss and chose to serve, delivering two aces in the first game. As the match settled in, Venus was dominant. Although flashes of Serena’s old game shone through, her groundstrokes ripping balls onto lines on the opposite court, her absence from the sport was apparent. The sense of timing that comes from playing matches flickered off at moments when Venus was at her most brilliant in terms of pace and placement. Venus broke at a critical 3-2 and held for 5-3. Serena held once more but Venus won the first set off her serve.

In the second set, Venus started with a break and quickly advanced to 3-0. Serena broke back and held, nearly equalizing when she forced a deuce at 3-2, but failing to push through. When Venus was up 5-2, her nerves began to fully show through. She double-faulted twice in her service game and hit several unforced errors to allow Serena a hold and break before Venus finally won 6-4 on her serve.

Venus was reluctant to analyze the match much in her press conference, saying in general terms: “the biggest challenge is really her tennis.” Asked about the personal meaning of playing her sister in Indian Wells, given the historical significance, she simply responded: ”it never crossed my mind.”  One question the older sister did have something to say about was how Serena is playing after her time away from the tour: “Her level is super high, and it was very difficult to close out the match, just getting one ball back. Like I said, I have had a few more matches. Even though I haven't even played that much this year, the matches in the last year count.

Serena elaborated a little more on her current state: “I mean, just making – missing shots that I never miss, and so close. At least they're in the margin. You know, I'm getting there. It's not exactly where I want to be, but, I mean, I'll get there eventually.” She congratulated her sister saying: “Well, tonight I think everything was good. Everything kind of improved. Yeah, so I definitely know her well, but she definitely played a little bit better than she normally does today.”

Venus faces Anastasija Sevastova in the round of 16.