@@MrTarun83 of course she. is. still. running! How can she make it to finals if she's not still running? She may not be running as fast as when she was 17 but by God she's still running fast enough to still be a threat. Don't sell her short.
Gosh 1999 was such an iconic year for women's sports. The soccer squad won the World Cup in America. Serena won the US Open for her 1st GS title. Theresa Witherspoon hit THE SHOT against Houston in the WNBA finals. So much win that year!!!
One of my favorite years of Serena’s career ...I knew absolutely nothing about tennis and tuned in with my mom to watch her...Serenas 1st slam win inspired me to get into the sport of tennis...been playing coaching the sport and following ever since ....Thank you Venus And Serena !
Great story! Same thing with me except for the coaching. I started following them earlier that year when they played each other at the 1999 Lipton Open final (Miami Open). Venus won that and everyone thought the US Open might be next and it might be another Venus/Serena final, until Hingis took Venus out in the semis. Then little sister stepped up and took Hingis out in the final. The drama was terrific. I immediately started playing tennis and never stopped. Changed my life.
@@jefferoni1984 Can you help please with some understand/knowledge please: (Please don’t laugh, Google just confused me even more) What’s the difference between Wimbledon and the Grand Slam? They’re not the same correct? And Wimbledon IS the highest honor for Tennis, as in winning the Super Bowl? 🥴
@@tonshmar Sure. There are four grand slam tournaments played each year. The Australian Open, French Open (also called Roland Garros) Wimbledon and the US Open. Played in that order in January, May, July and August, respectively. They’re referred to as grand slams or sometimes just a slam for short. All of the top players in the world usually play each of them, barring injury or other extenuating circumstances. They all want to show up and test themselves against the best players in the world. And just winning one slam is considered the mark of a great champion. The vast majority of players go their entire careers without winning a slam. While the four slams are all fairly equal in prestige, Wimbledon is a little more prestigious since it’s the oldest tennis tournament in the world and it’s played in England on grass, which is how lawn tennis was originally played. England is arguably the birthplace of tennis so it has that credibility going for it. Grass isn’t as popular of a surface as it used to be but it’s considered the original, hence the name of the sport, “Lawn Tennis”. Clay and hard courts are by far the most popular surfaces now. Clay being the second original surface that tennis was played on, and is the one used at the French Open, the second oldest grand slam and probably second in prestige - followed by the US Open and the Australian Open when it comes to prestige. Although again most players would be happy with winning any one of the four. When a player has won all four, they’re said to have won “The Grand Slam”. If they do it all in the same year then they won “The Calendar Grand Slam”. If they win all four in the same year and also win the Olympic gold then it’s called “The Golden Slam”. Steffi Graf is the only player in history to have done this in 1988, arguably the best year of tennis ever played by anyone. Hope that helps.
@@jefferoni1984 It helps A LOT! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain. I’ve literally copied and pasted (for my personal reference) as to become more familiar with how Tennis operates! 🙌🙏
@@jefferoni1984 Thank you so much! I really enjoyed reading this. Very insightful. My mom & dad have been following the William sisters' since the 90s but I have no clue about the operations of Tennis haha. So I appreciate the breakdown you so generously offered.
She won first GS in US Open 1999 at 17yo...wouu wonderfull...Amazingly but she is no.7 seed at that GS... R.1 vs Kim.P 6-0.6-1 R.2 vs J.Kostanic 6-4.6-2 R.3 vs K.Clijsters 4-6.6-2.7-5 R.4 vs C.Martinez 4-6.6-2.6-2 QF vs M.Seles 4-6.6-2.6-2 SF vs L.Davenport 6-4.1-6.6-4 F vs M.Hingis 6-3.7-6 Amazingly she beat no.4 seed Seles than no.2 seed Davenport.and at the final beat no.1 seed and world no one at that times Hingis....wouuuuu..perfect victory to win her first GS
Everyone think Serena is all about power but you can tell from this early grand slam run that her net game is already excellent - timing, position, feel all seems to be top notch and she usually ends up with winners
That was no easy feat Serena in 1999 - her matches were with some heavy hitters. This was an emergence of a champion. I love seeing these highlights. It is indeed true American history.
When she won this, I screamed so loudly that I woke up a baby. And against Hingis made it so sweet. So glad to have experienced this run when it happened. It was electric.
Jonathan Rice probably not. The kids are fast. And she’s 39 in a month or two. She’s much slower after childbirth too. But her place in history cannot be disputed.
@@jonathanrice1070 I believe that if she gets serious about her fitness and drops 20-30 lbs, learning some experience from Djokovic, Draymond Green, etc in that regard; she can win a few more slams
I was there. Her 3rd match with Clijster was nail biting. She was down 5-3 on the third set and two match point from losing that match but managed to turn it around and win it.
Reminds me of the match they had at the Australian Open (2003, semifinal) when Kim and Serena each had a set and Kim was up 5-1 in the 3rd and STILL lost to Serena.
@@karaokelola that's the difference between a player who wants to be good and a player who wants to be great. A champion. She could've just gave up being down 1-5, but she'll still fight and end up winning the match. That's one thing I noticed about her compared to the other players. She *WILL* run for *EVERY* ball and won't give up.
To consider that she's still playing today...in 2021...at an age when most tennis players are long retired. This was her first Grand Slam win at age 17.
It was when she beat Seles that I finally started to believe she could win the whole thing. I was stationed out at Camp Hansen (aka Sin City) in Okinawa as a Marine. Would watch on duty via the Armed Forces Network and I got caught up during that run. Everyone expected Venus to be the first to break through, but Serena while not out of nowhere, put it together and showed she would be just as formidable as big sister.
Look at the opponents she faced clijsters, Martinez, Seles, Lindsay and Hingis. That's how a long Lasting star is forged. Tough days for women's tennis now. We are mostly getting champions at the mercy of upsets in the draw. It's good to be in the era of a star that is brightest ever, Serena Williams.
I grew up in the early 1990’s and at that time Monica Seles was making a stunning impact with 8 slams by the age of 20. Furthermore, her rivalry with Steffi Graf was developing beautifully. It would have taken the women’s game to the next level both on and off court. I have so much respect for Serena but her rivalry with Venus was much hyped by the press etc. but nearly always disappointed. It lacked intensity which was evident in the Graf v Seles matches. Watch Seles v Graf 1993 Australian Open Final and you will witness a LEGENDARY match!!
Seles was on course to be the GOAT before the stabbing in 1993. She had 8 slams at 20yrs old.Plus, the sporting world was denied an EPIC rivalry between Seles and Graf which was developing beautifully. That rivalry in the 1990’s would have raised the women’s game to the next level both on and off court. The rivalry between Serena and Venus was disappointing and lacked intensity.
@@joang5678 Totally get what your saying🙏. Actually that WOULD DEFINITELY have been an epic rivalry between a peak Seles ie. no stabbing and a young Serena. That would definitely have put bums on seats lol
It’s funny I grew up watching tennis for the matches of Edberg, Sampras, Seles and Graf era and never really got into women’s tennis until the likes of Hingis and Kournikova (who weren’t much older than me at the time) but really paid attention when the Williams sisters came in the scene. I remember I shouted at the tv cos I recognized them from the old Donohue show where they appeared with their dad Richard. That first Williams Slam title was amazing and to see them both flourish and change the game and found the matches more entertaining to watch from then on.
Funny, I never REALLY got into men's tennis until Federer can't along. I always watched the women because it was more catty, I thought. Maybe it's because I'm also a female. 🤷
For me the greatest tragedy in the women’s game was when Seles got stabbed in 1993. She was really starting to dominate with 8 majors at 20 yrs old and developing a stunning rivalry with Graf. That rivalry would have helped to take the women’s game to the next level both on and off court in the 1990s. Serena v Venus as a rivalry was much hyped, understandably, but lacked intensity.
Young Serena was so cute lol. She was so fast, even faster than I remember. She def has lost a lot of her speed and is still able to beat the number 2 seed. None of the women would stand a chance against her if she still had that speed.
4 out of 7 matches up to 3 sets, many former Grand Slam winners, runners-up wins in the 3rd round, no1 player in the finals ... after playing so many difficult matches, Serena finally won. Venus also reached the final at the age of 17. Serena also wanted to make a name for herself like her sister. She also reached the final and won. One step ahead of Venus.
To be , in her 2nd Us -open at 17, that incredible comeback against Clijsters ,winning from the nr 2 and defending champion and win the whole thing against the nr 1.
Venus Started It ! Serena going to Finish It ! Two Of The Greatest Women 🎾🔥 Player's Who Shift The Game Of Women 🎾 to where it is even being played Now ! because of the Two of Them Both being Power Hitters ! Venus and Serena didn't adapt to how their opponents were playing ! Their opponents had to adapt to them ! All of them ! The Williams Sister's 🎾🔥🎾🔥♥️
Very fitting that it was clijsters who gave her the toughest battle and it was only the third round, considering clijsters was the most dominant player at the Open after Serena on this list. Hardest run to a title I think maybe ever in a slam in terms of quality of players. Just wow.
She had a very tough draw. A future champion like Clijsters, two veterans like Conchita and Seles who were not at their prime but still very dangerous and the last two champions of the US Open. The decline of Martina Hingis was quite obvious since the FO debacle. She really played really bad the beginning of three of her last four GS finals. I remember back in the day, Serena was just the promising young sister of Venus who was supposed to be the great champion of the two. At the end both were great champions but Serena end being a legend
Swinde Yes he did! Because he said Serena was like a pit bull that she wouldn’t let go or give up and that she is her own enemy on the courts but once she sees the problem she’s having she has a way of adapting to the other players game and if she has to go 3 sets she will go the distance whether she wins or lose she will fight until the last point
yomismo74 Conchita Martínez was 27 at that time. She played in a Slam final in 1998 and 2000 (a year before and after playing Serena in the video). Monica Seles was only 25 when she played Serena in the video above. I don't see how these players have past their primes.
@@yomismo74 That is true - not everyone peaks at the same time. But I'm just merely pointing out that Seles and Conchita were still in their primes in at age 27 and 25 respectively. Serena Williams was no push over at the time, and she was an athlete any top-10 player would have wanted to avoid early in a Slam. In Serena's debut in a main draw of a WTA event as a qualifier, she took out two top-10 players in a row in an era when top-10 players were consistent in winning. To date, no player has achieved that.
When you think about her dominance, Serena has taken out so many greats/multi gs winners in her career. Graf, Seles(her idol), Conchita Martinez, Davenport, Hingis, Peirce, Venus, Henin, Clijsters, Capriati, Sharapova, Azarenka, Kvitova, Li Na, Halep and even Barty. Thats amazing to have such an amazing winning career.
Wow to look back and really realize the Tough players she had to beat was really Amazing. IT showed she was ready to take control of women's Tennis. Her strokes had a little more zip than Venus. Venus volley was better I think if Venus serve was more fluid and her second had more kick with pace we would of witnessed more Grand Slams.
Man ... Serena look so fit and fast back 1999 early 2000 ; Olympic sprinter.... she became so dominant with her serve and forehand.... in the years to come..... can she win GS #24??? it is possible.. time is clicking away.....
Incredible, what a performance and take down of so many #1s! Still can’t understand why so many in the stands aren’t clapping when she accepts the trophy 🤷♂️
Her prime was between 2002 to maybe 2005....then again from about 2009-2013. From 2002 and 2003 she won 5 grand slams! 2013 had her best win percentage, I think.
Gotta give it to Serena. Look at depth of the entire tournament and the players she had to play. And she walloped everyone.... obviously Clijsters really should have won and yet again choked a loss jn .... buy wow Serena 👏
i mean she’s always very happy when she wins, but this was her first grand slam title and she was just a teenager so of course she’d be a lot more ecstatic and overjoyed about it. i’m sure if she were to win another tournament or even grand slam especially number 23 she’d be over the moon celebrating because she’s been trying and getting so close to it for the best of 2/3 years now
@@oliviatagoeduring I agree. I’m sure most athletes really miss having a big crowd so I’ll be excited to see their reaction when this pandemic is finally over and tennis returns to something closer to normal. I miss watching!
@@gusgusfl i also agree with what you said there, although the tennis was great this year, i also missed the big crowds. besides the players and people involved in making the tournaments able to go forward, it seemed so empty during matches. everyone will be so relieved once this pandemic is over and sportspeople will be glad to have the crowd’s support again!
