- Serena Williams (WTA 605) fails at the US Open in the 3rd round with 5: 7, 7: 6 (7: 4), 1: 6 at Ajla Tomljanovic (WTA 46).
- The Australian wins a big battle of attrition after 3:04 hours.
- The defeat should be synonymous with the end of the career of the 23-time Grand Slam winner.
It happened at 10:22 p.m. local time: Serena Williams put her last forehand into the net and sealed the end of her career. Before that, the American had fought against the impending defeat with the last of her strength and with the score at 1:5 in the 3rd set she saved 5 match points. Williams even had 2 more break chances, which she wasn’t able to use. A little later it was finally over.
Big cinema with a big backdrop
However, the 23-time major winner did not say goodbye to the big stage without having gotten everything out of herself again in her 1014th and possibly last singles match at professional level. Tomljanovic and Williams offered great sport in front of an electrifying backdrop at Arthur Ashe Stadium for over 3 hours, the 11-year-younger Australian ultimately had a little more staying power than her 40-year-old opponent.
Williams had still submitted in the decisive sentence. Inspired by the set equalization, the American secured the break right at the beginning of the 3rd round. However, it should be the last game that the local hero should win. Despite the constant raging fans, Tomljanovic always kept calm, showed a flawless performance and was a worthy and deserved winner in the end. The Australian is in the round of 16 for the first time at the US Open.
Attrition at a high level
Tomljanovic had already shown comeback qualities in the first two sets. In the 1st round, Williams served to lead the set at 5:3, but Tomljanovic countered with 4 games in a row to still win the game 7:5.
The 29-year-old’s race to catch up was even greater in the second round, when she made up a 0:4 deficit before Williams played big in the tie-break, equalized the set and brought the stadium to a boil.
resignation from resignation? “I don’t think so, but you never know”
While Williams was still composed immediately after the end of the game, tears still flowed during the field interview. She thanked her entire entourage for their support over the years and paid tribute to her conqueror: “I tried everything, but Ajla just played a little better,” said Williams.
When asked if there was a chance she would reconsider her decision to resign, Williams replied: “I don’t think so, but you never know…”