When Serena Williams’ Father Richard Williams Didn’t Open the Bottle of Scotch He Had During the Intense Final of US Open 1999

American tennis legend, Serena Williams, recently concluded her long and illustrious career. The 41-year-old ruled the court for a long time. She went down with 23 Grand Slam titles to her name. No one else has won as many in the open era.

While each of the 23 titles she has won has a special story, the first one was the most important of them all. Serena defeated top seed Martina Hingis in the 1999 US Open to lift her first Grand Slam title. It was a special day for the entire Williams family. Richard Williams had a bottle of scotch in his pocket, but the old man didn’t gulp it down. Here’s what happened.

Richard Williams doesn’t drink

The 1999 US Open was a roller coaster ride for Richard Williams. In the semifinal, he saw his elder daughter Venus Williams lose to world number one, Martina Hingis. However, his younger daughter, Serena Williams, reached the finals.

The final was an intense encounter, and there were many tense moments in the game. That’s when a lady approached Richard with a bottle of Scotch. Speaking about it after the match, Williams said, “A woman gave this to me and said, ‘If you get nervous during the match.”

He further added, “Lyndrea, my daughter, said, ‘My daddy doesn’t drink!’ ”

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That night, Serena embarked on a special journey that later saw her win 22 more titles.

Serena Williams brought her daughter to watch her match

We have seen Richard Williams supporting his daughters from the stands. Serena had the support of her father throughout her career. Later, her husband, Alexis Ohanian, was usually present for Serena’s important matches. However, another special person who Serena would never let watch her match live was her own daughter Olympia.

The former world number one is extremely protective of her little girl. In fact, the 41-year-old feared that if Olympia was in the stadium, her focus will shift away from the match and she won’t be able to focus.

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However, when Serena played her last tournament, we saw both Olympia and Alexis cheering for Serena from the stands. Serena ended her career after losing out in a tough third-round match at the US Open.