The dreaded moment has arrived. Tennis superstar Serena Williams was eliminated Friday, September 2, in the third round of the US Open by Australian Ajla Tomljanovic (46e world), in three sets, 7-5, 6-7 (7/4), 6-1, in New York. A defeat which probably means the end of the career of the one who is considered the best player in history.
Carried by a molten audience of nearly 24,000 people, the American did not manage to continue her momentum, after winning two superb victories at the start of the tournament, she who fell to 605e world rank.
The tennis champion with twenty-three Grand Slam titles announced his imminent retirement on August 9 in the magazine vogue and on her Instagram account, but, on Monday evening, after her victory in the first round against Montenegrin Danka Kovinic, the former world number 1 had voluntarily remained ” vague “ on the time and place of this retreat.
This Friday, just after the defeat, she was again hesitant when asked if she was thinking of reconsidering the decision to end her career. “I don’t think so, but you never know. I do not know ! », she replied after thanking, with tears in her eyes, the people who accompanied her in her “incredible journey”.
A speech worth the 🐐 @serenawilliams | #USOpen https://t.co/0twItGF0jq
fierce battlee and emotion
Like her entire career, the American, who will be 41 on September 26, fought a fierce battle for more than three hours before having to surrender against her 29-year-old opponent. After a tight first set, but lost 7-5, Serena Williams showed her power in the second set, quickly leading 4-0, before suffering the return of the Australian. It was at the tie-break, and with courage, that Serena Williams equalized with one set everywhere, finally winning the tie-break (7 points to 4).
But just as impressive, Ajla Tomljanovic had kept reserves for the third and final round. Stripped of her entry service, the Australian rectified the situation, chaining six games in a row to win 6-1, despite five match points repelled by a Serena Williams at the height of combativeness. An intense moment of emotion then came to envelop the Arthur Ashe court where sadness, nostalgia and celebration mingled. A perfect communion between an audience and an athlete to the sound of song Simply the Best by Tina Turner.
Despite the eyes of Chimene – “Before the draw, I imagined that I was facing him on the Arthur-Ashe. It will be a unique moment, whatever the outcome.”she said before the meeting -, Ajla Tomljanovic offered a piece of legend by becoming (probably) the last rival to have faced – and brought down – Serena Williams.
The American secretly cherished the hope of going to Flushing Meadows to get her 24e Major, allowing her to equal the absolute record of Margaret Court, after which she had been chasing since her victory at the Australian Open 2017. The dream has passed but the legacy of Serena Williams will remain.
