Just about everyone knows what it feels like to sluggishly struggle to get through an afternoon at work with the end of the day in sight. At some point, you just need a little boost, regardless of what you do for a living.
Well on Thursday, Venus Williams was experiencing that familiar feeling in the third round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. During a break in her match against Croatia’s Donna Vekic, her coach paid her a visit on the court, and Williams had a very specific request: coffee, “like ASAP.”
In one of the most relatable moments ever from a professional athlete, Venus’ coach is offering tips and encouragement, while she was like: Coffee, now, thanks.
Whether it was the coffee, hydration or a combination of things, whatever Venus did in the middle of the match worked. After dropping the first set to Vekic, 2-6, she fought back and won the second and third sets, both 6-3.
To be fair, this isn’t the most unusual request on the tennis court, and even Serena Williams has asked for an espresso mid-match before.
After winning Thursday, Venus talked about her early struggles:
“I think I just started out slow, and that sometimes happens. But [Vekic] also played well. You could see it. She was super determined and just wanted to get every ball in, like ran for every shot and just forced the issue. And I realized what I was going to be up against today and just tried to dig in deeper.”
Williams advanced to the quarterfinals and will play Madison Keys on Friday at 7 p.m. ET for a shot at the semifinals Saturday.
