Russian duo exact revenge on Serena and Venus Williams at the US Open

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Russians Nadia Petrova and Maria Kirilenko avenged a pair of stinging London defeats by beating Venus and Serena Williams in the women's doubles at the US Open last night.

Petrova and Kirilenko claimed a 6-1 6-4 victory on Louis Armstrong Stadium court for their first victory over the American sisters, to reach the quarter-finals.

The Williamses beat the Russians 3-6 6-3 9-7 in the second round at the Wimbledon championships after Kirilenko and Petrova had led 4-1 in the third set in their first meeting. The Americans went on to claim their 13th grand slam doubles title.

Serena and Venus then returned to the All England Club and beat the Russian pair 7-5 6-4 in the Olympic semi-finals before going on to claim their third gold medal together.

"It feels great," said Kirilenko.

"It was a good victory for us," added Petrova.

The Russians said playing on the Flushing Meadows hard court rather than London grass had made a difference, giving them a better chance at returning serve and getting into the points.

Petrova and Kirilenko were virtually immaculate with their groundstrokes, committing only three unforced errors in the match.

"We played clean tennis, very consistent," said Petrova, who was coming off a three-set loss to Maria Sharapova in the fourth round of singles.

Petrova said it was good to come back the next day and win.

"Especially against the Williams sisters," Kirilenko quickly added.

Reuters