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Serena beats Venus to advance to US Open semi-final

Serena Williams is on course to win a calendar grand slam. Her latest victim was her sister Venus who was dispatched in three sets at Flushing Meadows.

Serena Williams at Flushing Meadows
Serena Williams at Flushing Meadows Mike Stobe/Getty Images
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Serena Williams took out her elder sister Venus to move into the semi-finals of the US Open on Tuesday night.

It finished 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 and maintains Serena's dream of becoming the first woman in 27 years to complete a grand slam   winning all four major tournaments in the same year.

It was the 27th meeting between the two sisters who have become the benchmark of women's tennis over the past 15 years. Serena now leads the head-to-head 16-11.

"She was at an unbelievable level. Right down to the match point I wasn't at all feeling easy. It was probably the toughest match I've played in a really long time," said Serena.

"I was out there facing an incredibly tough opponent."

Venus Williams has dropped down the rankings as she battled with the auto-immune illness Sjögren's syndrome.

"It's really great to see her do so well. Knowing that she is back to this kind of level is so good and so inspiring and hopefully it's encouraging for her too."

Serena will meet the unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci for a place in the final. Vinci got past the unseeded Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic in three sets.

It's the Italian's first time in a grand slam semi-final at her 44th attempt. The chances of the 32-year-old progressing appear slim. Williams has won all of their four meetings on the circuit since 2009. They last played at the Rogers Cup in Toronto last month.

"She played me really tough and I didn't expect that," said the American. "I'm not going to underestimate her. She played really well and she's not in the semi-finals of a grand slam for no reason. She knows what to do and how to play."

The other semi-final pits the the second seed Simona Halep from Romania against Victoria Azarenka from Belarus. The 20th seed has won both encounters but that was more than three years ago before she was struck down by injuries and the Romanian was on the rise.

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