Serena Williams and sister Venus won at the BNP Paribas Open to set up a third-round clash in the desert tournament. Serena got by No. 29 seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the second round on Saturday in her return from a 14-month absence after giving birth to her first child.
Venus preceded her younger sister on the stadium court and beat Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-3, 6-4.
The sisters will resume their longtime rivalry on Monday. Serena leads Venus 17-11 all time and has won eight of their last nine meetings, most recently the Australian Open final last year.
It will be their earliest meeting since the sisters' first match in the series, a straight-sets victory by Venus in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open.
They've been competing against each other their entire lives, but Monday at Indian Wells, Serena and Venus Williams will play a match that has added significance.
