Serena beats Venus to take 31st meeting

LEXINGTON, Kentucky: There was zero interaction between the two; not even a furtive glance, when Venus Williams walked past Serena Williams in the Top Seed Open’s warm-up area Thursday (Friday in Manila) before their 31st matchup as pros.

Moments later, both headed to the court, each wearing a face covering — Serena sporting a leopard print design; Venus, a light blue medical mask — and were greeted not by the roars of an appreciative audience, but basically, by silence; zero fanfare because, well, there were zero fans at the first tennis tournament in the United States (US) since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.