MELBOURNE, Australia –Venus Williams held up her end of the deal for another all-sisters Australian Open final with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3 win over CoCo Vandeweghe, becoming the oldest player to reach the final of the tournament in the Open era.
The 36-year-old Williams is back in a Grand Slam final for the first time since Wimbledon in 2009 and her first here since 2003, when she lost to her younger sister, Serena.
She could get a chance to avenge that loss –22-time major winner Serena Williams was playing 34-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni later Thursday for a spot in the final.
“It means so much, mostly because she played so well.
I mean, she played so unbelievable,” Williams said of the 25-year-old Vandeweghe, who was playing her first major semifinal. “To be able to get through the final from a match like this –I’m excited about American tennis as well.
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Williams needed four match points on Vandeweghe’s serve in the last game before converting. Then she put both hands on her face, almost in surprise.
“It’s more than a cherry on top,” she said. “It’s more than I dreamed of.”
Earlier, Bob and Mike Bryan earned a shot at a seventh Australian Open doubles title after a rain-interrupted 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 semifinal win Friday over Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.