Venus Williams’ run at the U.S. Open in the women’s doubles tournament has reached the quarterfinals.
Williams and doubles partner Leylah Fernandez — unseeded in the event — knocked off No. 12 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and Shuai Zhang 6-3, 6-4 in the Round of 16 on Monday, as Williams, who has won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, continued her sprint to winning the first one without her sister, Serena, as her partner.
After taking the first set, Williams and Fernandez were tied at 3 with Alexandrova and Zhang in the second before securing a key break, and they held serve during their next two opportunities to advance.
At match point, leading 40-15 in the game, Williams fired a serve toward the corner, and after a return, Fernandez — playing at the net — sliced a shot between Alexandrova and Zhang to complete the win.
Williams and Fernandez will face the winner of Taylor Townsend-Kateřina Siniaková — the No. 1 seed in the doubles tournament — and Camila Osorio-Yuan Yue in the next round.
It’ll mark the first appearance in a Grand Slam doubles quarterfinals for Williams since Wimbledon in 2016.
And after the match, when asked if she had a message for Serena, Williams tried to convince her sister to come to Queens on Wednesday.
“Really, she’s so happy for Leylah and I, and she’s giving us advice,” Williams said during her on-court interview. “We just need her in the box. So my message is: Serena, you need to show up.”
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