Sensation and emotion. The fifth day of the Australian Open, Friday, January 24 in Melbourne, was marked by the elimination, in the third round, of the American Serena Williams and the Danish Caroline Wozniacki, who disputed the last tournament of her career.
Serena Williams, 38, world ninth, still chasing a 24th Grand Slam title, hadn't been eliminated so early in Melbourne since 2006, where she has gleaned seven titles since 2003.
After the match, she called " malpractice " her defeat by Chinese Qiang Wang (29th), whom she swept four months ago in 44 minutes in the quarterfinals of the US Open.
"She didn't play the same way today (…) She served well and I didn't go back like Serena. But, honestly, if you don't want to lie to yourself, it's all for me. I lost the match ", Williams said. In 2:41 of a match, she committed 56 direct faults, against 20 for Wang.
"I cry, but I am happy"
Half an hour earlier, by bowing to the Tunisian Ons Jabeur (78th), Caroline Wozniacki (36th in the world) had finally turned the page on the professional circuit.
The Danish who had won her only Grand Slam title in 2018 in Melbourne, at 28, announced in early December 2019 that this Australian tournament would be the last of her career. "I have been a professional since the age of 15 and during this period I experienced an extraordinary first chapter of my life", she explained.
A year earlier, in October 2018, the woman who had been world number one for 71 weeks between October 2010 and February 2018, said that she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory disease that attacks the joints.
But she said in late 2019 that her decision to stop professional tennis "Had nothing to do with (her) health ».
"What I have achieved on the courts has been incredible (…) The support of my father who has coached me all these years … These are memories that will never leave me. I'm crying, but I'm happy ”, she said on Friday before leaving Margaret Court Arena for the last time.
In total, she won 30 titles including one in the Grand Slam (Australia-2018) and the End-of-year Masters in Singapore (2017) and played 25 finals, including two at the US Open (2009, 2014).
