At hot-for-Wimbledon, Venus Williams nears Serena showdown

LONDON – Venus Williams is no longer the player she once was, on account of the passage of time and the day-to-day ups and downs of an energy-sapping condition.

At age 35, 21 years removed from her first professional tournament, Williams still possesses a dangerous serve, along with the muscle memory that comes with seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon.

And so while it is her younger sister Serena who is ranked No. 1, has 20 major titles and owns a 23-match Grand Slam winning streak as of Wednesday, the elder Williams is still in the draw at the All England Club, too – and the siblings are closing in on what would be their 26th all-in-the-family matchup on tour.

On the hottest day on record in Wimbledon history, with the temperature topping 95 degrees – and a terrific day for American women – both Williams sisters won second-round matches: 16th-seeded Venus beat 95th-ranked Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 7-6 (5), 6-4, while top-seeded Serena defeated 93rd-ranked Timea Babos of Hungary 6-4, 6-1.

Two more wins, and the siblings will meet in the fourth round.

Four other U.S. women won, including two real surprises: 158th-ranked qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat No. 7 Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-4; and 47th-ranked CoCo Vandeweghe beat No. 11 Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Also advancing: No. 21 Madison Keys, who finished off a match suspended because of darkness at 2-all in the third set a night earlier, and Sloane Stephens.

A pair of U.S. men moved on, too: No. 17 John Isner and 105th-ranked wild-card Denis Kudla.