‘Never Seen Her That Down’ – A Young Serena Williams Got Emotional When She Grabbed Maiden Grand Slam Title Ahead of Sister Venus

The Williams sisters have inscribed their names on many major records in tennis. Venus and Serena Williams debuted in the late 90s and dominated women’s tennis, much like veterans, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. They consistently reached the last-round runs in almost every major tournament. In fact, they faced each other in the finals on several occasions.

Further, those few times when one of them incurred a disappointing loss, the other battled with added dedication. One such memorable moment happened in the year 1999.

Serena Williams avenging Venus

Venus was considered as the next big thing in women’s tennis when the sisters made their debut. She outclassed Serena to claim the Lipton Championship in Florida and was ranked one place higher than her sister. However, in their home-based Grand Slam, the US Open, she fell short. The seven-time Grand Slam champion had to walk out of the event in the semifinals.

Her withdrawal, however, strengthened the will in the younger sister, as she won the US Open, her first Grand Slam title. After her triumph, Serena said, “I think, if anything, it’s going to motivate Venus.”

“She was up there supporting me. After I lost my first two match points, I looked over – to not my mom or dad, I saw them also – but I saw Venus over there, really making sure, pumping me up. It really helped me,” she added. The now 23-time Grand Slam champion earned her first ever Grand slam title that season by thrashing Martina Hingis 6-3, 7-6.

Read more: ‘Learn to Separate That’ – Serena Williams Once Explained the Difficult Thing She Had to Endure While Facing Sister Venus

Thereafter, Williams admitted, “Venus was really down after her match with Martina. I’ve never seen her that down before. That encouraged to be even tougher out there today.” Venus, following her semifinals defeat, came stronger next year and secured two consecutive US Open titles.

What lies ahead for the Williams sisters?

Both Serena and Venus made a comeback in the grass swing after almost a year out of the circuit. Though they failed to live up to the expectations of fans and exited the prestigious tournament in the initial rounds, the duo seemed optimistic about the upcoming hard court season.

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While Venus has signed up for only the Canadian Masters, the seven-time Wimbledon champion has decided to play two WTA 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati to prepare for the US Open.