Venus Williams has lavished praise on her younger sister Serena, saying that the 21-time Grand Slam champion is the best female player of all time.
Despite producing a spirited comeback, Venus went down 2-6, 6-1, 3-6 against Serena in a thrilling US Open quarter-final contest at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday.
Although Venus expressed her disappointment over the loss, she added that she was excited to see Serena have an opportunity to complete the calendar Grand Slam, the Guardian reported.
Meanwhile, the world number one admitted that the quarter-final contest against Venus was one of the toughest matches she had played after a long time, adding that Venus's victory was assured if she had played with any other player.
The result means Serena now stands only two wins away from securing the first calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988 and will next face her Italian opponent Roberta Vinci in semis.