Serena Williams will take on her sister Venus for the 29th time in a competitive match on Monday as she continues her comeback after the birth of her daughter, Olympia.
The 23 grand slam champion narrowly beat Kiki Bertens 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 in round two at the BNP Paribas Open.
The first set could have gone either way as the Dutch was let down by her own serves. Bertens, however, refused to surrender in the second set as she frustrated the 36 year old with a spirited display but was unable to back it up on serve as Williams reclaimed the break immediately before ending the contest 7-5.
Meanwhile, Venus advanced to the third round after beating Sorona Cirstea of Romania 6-3 6-4. The Williams sisters last met in the 2017 Australian Open final, when pregnant Serena won her 23rd Grand Slam singles title.
The match between the Williams sisters will be the earliest meeting between the two since their first professional match in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open. Serena leads the head-to-head record 17-11.
