![]() ![]() It was at this point that the match encroached on memorable status. They'd go to tiebreak, and Williams refused to be swept. Down 5-2, there was a marathon game with nine deuces and 24 points that lasted just over 15 minutes. The vintage, powerful two-handed backhand was landing for Williams. Williams came out and immediately won the first game of the second set. Tomljanovic flipped the first-set script, from down 5-3 to winning 7-5. This was only Williams' seventh match in a year's time. Over the course of three hours, she tickled the baseline and sideline for at least a dozen points, often to the chagrin of Williams, who's grown accustomed in her two-plus decades of dominance to see opponents send those shots long. Instead, Tomljanovic was able to match big serves with bigger returns. At that point it looked like Williams could make short work on a Friday night and set up a Sunday fourth-round match that would really build toward one of the biggest sports stories of 2022. Williams (officially ranked 605th in the world heading into the US Open) led Tomljanovic (ranked 46th) 5-3 in the first set. A unique American sports star put on a marathon performance, one that ends with some what-could-have-been in its aftermath. Fifty-three minutes into the final set of her career, Williams' run was done. The depressing sound of Williams' forehand shot getting caught in the net was like a punch to the gut. Williams and Tomljanovic made those last 14 minutes feel like an hour.Īnd then, all too suddenly, it ended. It goes another, there is no telling how much longer the battle ensues. The drama of tennis is how a match's end can hinge on one swing of the racket. The 29-year-old could not be cracked, though. Down 5-1, Williams still managed to blow Tomljanovic back on her heels a couple of times, then dupe her into a net winner and dazzle the crowd once more. The final game of her career featured eight deuces, six match points and took 14 minutes to complete. It was the longest US Open match of Williams' life. It took Tomljanovic 3 hours and 5 minutes to swipe Williams out of this 142nd US Open. She did go out with everything she had, though. The way Williams put on her career-closing performance was gripping enough to add to her legend. ![]() But something memorable transpired anyway. On the heels of two surprising (but really not all that surprising) wins in the first two rounds, we all started to wonder, if not try to envision it. With millions around the world watching and a riveted crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium hanging on her every swing, Williams' play was as inspiring as it's ever been. There is a lot to be discovered and gained in losing. Even if the result wasn't on her side, even if she didn't fully dictate the way she went out, she made sure to carve a memorable conclusion into a final, epic chapter. On Friday night in Flushing Meadows, Williams put on the kind of show that will linger as a final image of a virtuoso career. She became the center of the sports universe one more time this week, owning her legend and building upon it, even without a deep run into the 21st and seemingly final US Open of her life. This was a farewell tour with no guarantee of more than one match. Expectations were lower for her than anything she'd been playing with since she was 16 years old. ![]() ![]() Like all legends, she has a singularity to her greatness.Īnd yet, she entered this US Open with uncertainty. Outside of the trophies and records, the greatest thing you can say about Serena Williams is that she played tennis unlike anyone before her, and at the same time her style can't be duplicated. Given how she won 73 titles, 367 major matches, four Olympic gold medals and redefined what was possible on a tennis court, there's little argument against Williams being regarded as the game's most dominant, physical, athletic, graceful and inspiring player ever. In the eyes of most who know and love the sport, Williams holds claim to the GOAT status that's been heaped upon her in the winter of her transcendent 23-year run. Williams leaves the game second all-time in majors to Margaret Court's 24. One year later, she'd begin her ascent to global tennis dominance and win the US Open, the first of her 23 majors - a record in tennis' Open Era. It was Williams' earliest exit in this major since she was 16 years old - all the way back in 1998. One of the greatest tennis players ever was felled 7-5, 6-7, 6-1 in the third round of the US Open. Williams' denouement at 40 years old came at the unrelenting hands of a player almost 12 years her junior, Ajla Tomljanovic. But, barring a change of heart in the months to come, end it did. Serena Williams did not want her career to end on Friday night at Flushing Meadows in New York. Rare is the athlete - legendary or ordinary - who leaves the arena entirely on their own terms. ![]()
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