"The wisest thing I’ve ever heard a 17-year-old say" - Venus Williams recalls Serena Williams' 'refreshing' perspective heading into 1999 US Open SF

Venus Williams recently reminisced over the remarkable perspective demonstrated by her sister Serena Williams as they both headed into the semifinals of the 1999 US Open.

As Venus gears up for her 24th appearance at the US Open, the seven-time Grand Slam champion revisited her campaign at the 1999 edition of American Major.

In a video posted to her YouTube channel titled 'What I learned from my biggest loss with Venus Williams,' the 43-year-old opened up about her and Serena Williams reaching the semifinals of the US Open as teenagers.

"Picture this, it’s 1999 and it’s the US Open. And as we fast forward, it’s semifinals and both my sister, Serena Williams and I are in the semifinals. I had just turned 19 and Serena was 17 years old. We were babies," she said.

Venus asserted that both sisters were extremely motivated to reach the final, in an effort to live up to the expectations set by their father Richard Williams' confident declarations about the duo's future dominance.

"So we’re both in the semifinal and of course, if anyone knows anything about my dad, he had said a lot of things like, ‘Venus and Serena will be No. 1 in the world, they’ll be the greatest to ever play, they’re going to play each other in a lot of finals,’ you know. So of course, we both wanted to be in that final," Venus added.

During the women's doubles semifinal, Venus Williams recalled asking her partner and sister about the upcoming singles semifinals. Serena Williams' response, 'Well, since you have to show up. Why not compete?' struck her as extremely wise for a 17-year-old.

"We were also in the doubles semifinals too and I remember we were playing the match. I asked her, ‘Oh, how do you feel about tomorrow because we’re both playing our singles semifinal tomorrow?’ And she says, ‘Well, since you have to show up. Why not compete?’ And as a 17-year-old, this is the wisest thing that I’ve ever heard a 17-year-old say. And her perspective on it was incredible and as I look back, refreshing and amazing," Venus said.

How Venus and Serena Williams fared in the 1999 US Open SF

Serena Williams won the 1999 US Open

Venus Williams took on top seed Martina Hingis in a blockbuster semifinal clash at the 1999 US Open. Hingis defeated the seven-time Grand Slam champion 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in a closely-contested battle.

Serena Williams, on the other hand, faced second seed and defending champion Lindsay Davenport for a place in the final. She defeated Davenport 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to set up a thrilling title clash with Hingis.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion secured a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over the Swiss to claim her maiden Major title and the first of her record six, held jointly with Chris Evert, US Open titles.