US Open 2018: It's not easy, says Serena Williams after beating sister Venus

Serena Williams (right) consoles sister Venus after beating her in Round Three of the US Open on Friday. Pic/AFP

Going head-to-head with sister Venus for the 30th time brought out the best in Serena Williams as she hit top form at the US Open. Serena raced to a 6-1, 6-2 victory, equalling the most one-sided match in their long history.

She will next face Estonia's Kaia Kanepi. "It's not easy," said Serena, 36. "She's my best friend, she means the world to me and she's so supportive of my career and I'm extremely supportive of her career. Every time she loses I feel like I lose. I love her with all my heart and she's the only reason I'm still out here. I owe everything to her."

Nadal survives scare
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal allayed fears over his knee and believes he will be stronger for the four-hour examination he came through against Karen Khachanov on
Saturday.

The Russian, 22, won the opening set of the third-round clash and served for the second, but Nadal fought back to win 5-7, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6.

Del Potro advances
Earlier, former champion Juan Martin del Potro reached the Last 16 for the sixth time on Friday with a 7-5, 7-6, 6-3 win over Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco.
Argentine third seed Del Potro, the 2009 US Open winner, goes on to face Borna Coric, the 20th seed from Croatia. Coric made the fourth round of a Slam for the first time with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Russia's Daniil Medvedev.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever