Serena saves five match-points but ‘incredible journey’ ends
LEAVE it to Serena Williams to not want to go quietly, to not want this match, this trip to the US Open, this transcendent career of hers, to really, truly end.
Right down to what were, barring a change of heart, the final minutes of her quartercentury of excellence on the tennis court, and an unbending unwillingness to be told what wasn’t possible, Williams tried to mount one last classic comeback, earn one last vintage victory, with fans on their feet in a full Arthur Ashe Stadium, cameras at the ready.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion staved off five match points to prolong the threehour-plus proceedings, but could not do more, and was eliminated in the third round by Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5 6-7 (4) 6-1 yesterday (NZ time) in what is expected to be her final contest.
‘‘It’s been the most incredible ride and journey
I’ve ever been on in my life,’’ Williams said, tears streaming down her cheeks shortly after one final shot of hers landed in the net. ‘‘I’m so grateful to every single person that’s ever said, ‘Go, Serena!’ in their life.’’
She turns 41 this month and recently told the world that she is ready to start ‘‘evolving’’ away from her playing days — she expressed distaste for the word ‘‘retirement’’ — and while she remained purposely vague about whether this appearance at Flushing Meadows definitely would represent her last hurrah, everyone assumed it will be.
Asked whether she might reconsider walking away, Williams replied: ‘‘I don’t think so, but you never know.’’
With two victories in singles this week, including over the No 2 player in the world, Anett Kontaveit, Williams took her
fans on a thrill-a-minute throwback trip at the hardcourt tournament that was the site of a half-dozen of her championships.
The first came in 1999 in New York, when Williams was just 17. Now she’s married and a mother; her daughter, Olympia, turned 5 this week.
But even with 23,859 of her closest friends cheering raucously again, Williams faltered against Tomljanovic, a 29-year-old ranked 46th.
Williams gave away leads in each set, including the last, in which she was up 1-0 before dropping the final six games.
Tomljanovic is unabashedly a fan of Williams, having growing up watching her play on TV.
‘‘I’m feeling really sorry, just because I love Serena just as much as you guys do. And what she’s done for me, for the sport of tennis, is incredible,’’ said Tomljanovic, who has never been past the quarterfinals at any major. ‘‘This is a surreal moment for me.’’
Then, drawing laughs, Tomljanovic added: ‘‘I just thought she would beat me. She’s Serena. That’s that’s just who she is: She’s the greatest of all time. Period.’’
Momentum appeared to be on Williams’ side. But she could not pull off the sort of never-admit-defeat triumph she did so often over the years.
‘‘Oh, my God, thank you so much. You guys were amazing today. I tried,’’ Williams told the audience, hands on her hips, before mentioning, among others, her parents and her older sister, Venus, a seven-time major champion.
‘‘I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus. So thank you, Venus,’’ she said. ‘‘She’s the only reason that Serena Williams ever existed.’’
Williams entered the night having won 19 times in a row in the US Open’s third round of singles competition, including reaching at least the semifinals in her most recent 11 New York appearances.
Talk about a full-circle moment: The only other thirdround loss she’s had was way back in 1998, the year Williams debuted at age 16. She would win her first major trophy 12 months later at the US Open.