ABU DHABI, December 28, 2018

The 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) got off to an exciting start at the International Tennis Centre at Zayed Sports City on Thursday. Defending champion and 2018 Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson and Next-Gen star Karen Khachanov booked their places in Friday’s semi-finals, where they will play world number two, Rafael Nadal and world number one, Novak Djokovic respectively.

But in what was undoubtedly the highlight of the day, 23-time Grand Slam Champion, Serena Williams, took on older sister and seven-time Grand Slam Champion, Venus Williams, in what was their first-ever meeting in Abu Dhabi.

After making the mother of all comebacks at last year’s Championship, Serena showed why exactly she is considered among the all-time greats as she broke her sister in the fourth game aided by a series of unforced errors from Venus, to take a 3-1 lead in the opening set.

However, 38-year old Venus broke her sisters serve in the ninth game with a wonderful lob that deceived her younger sibling. But Serena dug deep to break right back and claimed the opening set 4-6 in just 39 minutes.

The packed-out stadium was treated to a wonderful game of tennis as the sisters clearly showed that they can still be fierce rivals on the court. The players traded service breaks in the second set before Venus stepped it up a gear and broke Serena twice more to take the set 6-3.

Venus continued her momentum into the super tiebreak with a series of powerful forehand winners, to win the match 10-8 in an hour and 26 minutes.

After the match, Venus Williams said: “It’s your first match back and you never quite know how it’s going to go. We were both out there and tested our game – and it was pretty close in the end. In the first match of the season you just hope it goes well and I really enjoyed playing in Abu Dhabi. I feel pretty fit and I’ve done the work in pre-season, so I’m feeling good.”

Commenting on her game, Serena Williams said: “It feels good to be back out there, like old times! We both did well and I’m really happy. I enjoyed it more this year if that’s even possible – and it was a great opportunity for me to play before Australia.”

Anderson fights past Chung

In the day’s first game, last year’s MWTC champion, Kevin Anderson, beat tournament debutant, South Korean, Hyeon Chung 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1 in two hours and 21 minutes. Anderson, who is making

his second appearance in Abu Dhabi, broke Chung in the sixth game of the opening set to take a 4-2 lead, but the highly rated Chung broke back in the ninth game to tie it up at five games all. A series of unforced errors in the tie-break saw Anderson go down 6-7 (4).

But 32-year-old Anderson quickly bounced back and showed his prowess as he quickly found his range and raced to take a 4-0 lead in the second set. The Australian Open Semi-Finalist, Chung, had no answers to Anderson’s aggressive game as the 6’8” South African closed out the second set 6-2.

It was much of the same in the third as Anderson, who by now showed glimpses of his scintillating form from last year, by breaking Chung in the opening game. He quickly found himself in trouble in the second game, but he used his big serve to get him out of trouble fighting back from 15-40 down to take the game and then wrap up the set and match.

After the game, Anderson said: “It’s been quite a few weeks since my last competitive match and it showed a bit in the first set, but I was really pleased with the way I played overall. I was able to capitalise on his serve in the second and third sets – and that created a lot more opportunities for me.”

Anderson who will next play Nadal continued: “One of my big goals from today’s match was to get through and play Nadal. It is a great opportunity for me. These are the guys who have been consistent for a long time and these are the matches I love to play. It will be his first match in a while that’s why it will be interesting. The biggest thing for me is the belief and the confidence in being out on the court.”

Khachanov beats Thiem

In the second match of the day, Next-Gen star Karen Khachanov continued his red-hot form earlier this year by beating Austrian world number 8 Dominic Thiem in straight sets 7-6 (3), 6-3. The 22-year-old will next face world number one Novak Djokovic who he beat in the final at the Paris Masters.

The first set was a closely fought affair with both players exchanging service breaks before Karen took the set in a tie-break. In the second set, the 6’8” Russian blew away his opponent with his powerful forehand winners and wrapped up the match in an hour and 18 minutes.

Commenting on his semi-final match against world number one Novak Djokovic, Khachanov said: “It will be my second game and his first, so I am really looking forward to a good fight tomorrow. The energy from the crowd makes it a great place to play in.”

With all six male players in actions, Day Two is not to be missed. The action kicks-off at 3pm as Hyeon Chung takes on Dominic Thiem for the fifth and sixth place followed immediately by the first semi-final between world number two Rafael Nadal and Kevin Anderson at 5pm. The second match will see world number one Novak Djokovic go head-to-head against Karen Khachanov at 7pm for a place in the final.

MWTC tickets are priced from AED 100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae.