Serena and Venus Williams were involved in a monumental doubles round match late on Friday night on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 14-time Grand Slam doubles champions took on Maya Joint and Hao-Ching Chan in the opening round.
For Serena it was her second time facing Maya Joint after the pair collided in the opening round of Wimbledon where Joint was victorious.
It wasn’t the best start for the Americans who were broken in the fourth and eighth games on their way to losing the first set 6-3.
After saving four break points in the second set, the Williams sisters raised their level and played some sensational tennis.
Their reward was taking the second set on the tiebreak as they sent Arthur Ashe Stadium into a frenzy.
In the deciding set, the Williams sisters made a sloppy start as they were broken in the fourth game before breaking back in the seventh game.
They had break points in the ninth game and took a 5-0 lead at the start of the tiebreak as it looked like they were going to claim victory.
However, the 14th seeds struck back 10-7 in the final set tiebreaker and sealed a big win and after the match Joint reflected on the experience, “I think the crowd is pretty much what we expected,” Joint explained to the WTA website.
“We expected a full stadium, and everyone cheering them, and it was pretty much that. But the atmosphere is super special. You’re not really going to get that again with many other players. I was very nervous. I was very stressed during the match, especially the second and third sets. Especially at the net, my movement, I felt like I wasn’t really doing anything, and I didn’t go for a volley. I was hesitant.
”I felt very, very relieved when it was over.”
There was no comment from the Williams sisters who declined to speak to the press after the match as their future remains uncertain.
