How it happened: Serena wins high-quality clash vs. Venus in Lexington

On Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET, TENNIS.com will be blogging the 31st meeting between Venus Williams and Serena Williams, in the second round of the Top Seed Open in Lexington. You can watch it live on Tennis Channel, or on Tennis Channel Plus.

5:12 p.m. ET—After speaking with press on Zoom, Serena caught up with Tennis Channel's Chanda Rubin and Steve Weissman.Some quotes:

On how she felt the two were playing:

"It felt high level. I felt like I had to step up my game fast, and a lot. Venus is playing super, super good."

On where this match ranked on quality among the 31 they've played, and if it was a contender for the top:

"Australia 2003, which I'll never forget. One of the most difficult matches of my career. Still don't know how I won that match. Today was right up there. I would say it was one of the Top 5 of the all-time super competitive matches that we've played against each other."

On Olympia not being present to see mom face Aunt Vee:

"She did want to come with me to the tennis today. She was like, 'I go tennis, too.' I told her she should go swimming. There's games and toys, it's so fun. Don't you want to swim? So I kind of talked her out of it. We played during her nap time. Any mom knows, you can't miss nap time, or else your day is nuts."

3:36 p.m. ET—Serena post-match: "The last couple games, I just wanted to win because I've been losing a lot of those tight sets. I really need to try and win this just for my game and my confidence. There's no crowd, so it kind of makes it super relaxing."

3:31 p.m. ET—SERENA WINS! What a match. What a setting. What competitors. Serena gave Venus a stare of some sort at the end. You love to see it.

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3:25 p.m. ET—Serena will serve for the match, having let out a big "Come on!". Venus had two game points, but after Serena crushed a forehand return winner to reach deuce, hit her 12th double fault. Serena followed with a forehand slice, backhand cross-court, backhand down the line winner combo. Wow.

3:19 p.m. ET—4-4. This is what we watch for. Serena was pushed to deuce, but like she's done so many times in her career, reached back on serve for a clutch hold.

3:13 p.m. ET—Back on serve. Serena unloads on a cross-court forehand to break on her third chance in that game.

3:10 p.m. ET—Twice, Serena brought her big sis in with a drop shot. And twice it did not pay off. Three successive games for Venus, who will look to move to within a game of the quarterfinals serving up 4-2.

3:05 p.m. ET—Venus now with a 3-2 lead.

3:01 p.m. ET—Will this be a game we look back on, in a match where viewers feel like they are on the court with these two tremendous athletes? Venus had a break point, missed a backhand into the net. At deuce, she set herself up nicely with a forehand drive volley, only to find the net again. Serena, with a chance to consolidate, double faulted. Venus would seize the moment with a forehand winner to level for 2-2.

2:53 p.m. ET—Serena dials in on return to grab the first momentum swing, breaking for 2-1. Venus is only making 50 percent of her first serves.

2:50 p.m. ET—Ace No. 8 for Serena sees the top seed stay with Venus for 1-1.

2:47 p.m. ET—Venus holds to open the third set.

2:36 p.m. ET—With the heat rule in effect, Venus opts to go off court. Serena has decided to stay put. What's a 10-minute pause after a five-month hiatus?

2:33 p.m. ET—A decider it is! Serena holds from 15-30 to close it out. If there's any takeaway from set two, it's that both are prepared for grueling exchanges, an area to look for as the match continues to build in tension.

2:29 p.m. ET—Serena to serve for the set at 5-3.

2:23 p.m. ET—A successful consolidation and we're a game away from going three.

2:20 p.m. ET—On her fifth break point of the set, Serena nails a backhand up the line to open a 4-2 advantage.

2:15 p.m. ET—When no fans are allowed, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

2:08 p.m. ET—Serena's third ace of the day puts her ahead 3-2.

2:03 p.m. ET—Venus survives a volatile game on serve to hold, having wiped away two break points. After Serena pushed her to deuce with deep returning, Venus went double fault, ace, double fault.

1:55 p.m. ET—Great comfortable hold for Serena. Will she use the quick sit down to make a move here?

1:52 p.m. ET—Serena prevailed in the rally of the match thus far to reach 15-30, but it's not enough to slow down her big sis. 1-1 in the second set.

1:43 p.m. ET—First set goes to Venus, 6-3. Serve isn't quite as impactful as the first round, but it really came alive when she needed it. Serena went just 1/5 on break point opportunities.

1:35 p.m. ET—A corrected call results in an ace and game point for Venus. "You really saw that ball in? I don't want anything for free but it was out," questioned Serena. Venus would hold for 5-2, erasing another break point.

1:29 p.m. ET—Four straight games for Venus. Terrific point construction brought Venus to 0-40 on Serena's serve, and a heavy backhand return on her second break point sealed the deal.

1:25 p.m. ET—Venus has her first lead of the day. Both players are still feeling out the conditions on the baseline.

1:21 p.m. ET—Back on serve. After missing her chance to grab a double break lead, Serena's late backhand falls wide to allow Venus to draw even at 2-2.

1:17 p.m. ET—Venus saves three break points to get on the board. Has won just 2/6 points on her first serve.

1:15 p.m. ET—Towel gate? Brett Haber says the sisters switched chair hook colors. "Don't question them, Brett!" chimes in Chanda Rubin.

1:12 p.m. ET—It's now 3-0, Serena. Big sis' serve has not come through yet, as Venus won just

1:09 p.m. ET—A double fault brought her to deuce, but Serena shakes it off to consolidate.

1:05 p.m. ET—Serena breaks to start. She won an extended rally with a backhand-down-the-line winner to open the clash. Venus netted a short-court forehand to drop serve.

12:58 p.m. ET—"I wanted green," said Serena. Big sister Venus already claimed the towel hook color before the coin toss was done. Venus won, and elected to serve.

12:54 p.m. ET—Venus and Serena first met on tour in the 1998 Australian Open second round. Two players already through to the Lexington quarterfinals, Marie Bouzkova and Coco Gauff, weren’t even born yet. The winner between Serena and Venus could meet 17-year-old left-hander Leylah Fernandez if the Canadian gets past Shelby Rogers.

Point blank: seeing these two champions meet for the 31st time is an absolute treat for tennis—and anyone yearning to have world-class sport back in a time like this. The setting presents the feeling of a backyard match, to the days before the world came to know each by their first names. There is no fanfare, there are no player introductions, there is no emcee to hype up the match. Just two sisters doing battle on a court so many of us can relate to.

Serena, who was five points from going out to her opener with Bernarda Pera, has prevailed in nine of their last 11 meetings to open up an 18-12 advantage. With some tweaks made to her serve that led to a dominant win over Victoria Azarenka Tuesday, can Venus capitalize on this far-too-early showdown?