Tennis: Serena says wins over Venus mean more now

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Serena Williams said her win over sister Venus at the U.S. Open on Friday was more meaningful than those she scored when they were up-and-coming teenagers because the pair realize they only have a limited number of years left in the game.

Serena, who will be 37 next month, showed her 38-year-old sister no mercy in their third-round meeting, thrashing her 6-1 6-2 to continue her quest at Flushing Meadows to tie the record for most Grand Slam titles.

“I feel like we want it so bad now,” a reflective Williams told reporters.

“I mean, we wanted it really bad when you were younger but we had a lot more years in our future,” she said.

“Now, I mean, we definitely want to continue to play, but it’s not like we’re 18 and 19 any more. So it’s a little bit different.”

The sisters first met as professionals at the 1998 Australian Open when Serena was 16 and Venus 17 and have played a total of 30 times, with the younger sibling coming out on top in 18 of those matches.

Serena called her sister the best player she has ever competed against and called the win a high point as she battles back to full fitness after having her first child a year ago.

“I played much better tonight than I have since I started this journey on my way back,” said Williams, who made the Wimbledon final in July.