By Stuart Miller
New York: Serena Williams went down fighting.
In the third round of her final US Open against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic, the 23-time grand slam champion could have been counted out time and again - after losing the first set, after blowing a second-set lead, and after getting routed for much of the third set.
But at every moment, Williams dug deep like the champion she was for so long and found a little something extra to give the fans one last thrill … and then another … and then another, before finally, she was finished and her era was over, having announced last month that her retirement was imminent after more than two decades dominating the women’s game.
“I don’t really give up,” Williams said in a subdued post-match press conference, after her 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 loss on Arthur Ashe Stadium before an emotional and vocal home crowd. “I’ve been down before, and I definitely wasn’t going to give up tonight.”
The American great returned to that theme when she was asked how she’d like to be remembered. “I’m a fighter,” she said, mentioning her “crazy intensity” and adding that “passionate” is a good word.
Williams, 40, struggled in the first set and dropped it too, but she didn’t give up, tearing out to a 5-2 lead in the second set.
Serena Williams departs from the stage, making a heart to fans after her loss in the US Open.Credit: AP
After Tomljanovic, showing tremendous composure, battled back to even the set, Williams again showed the tenacity that made her tennis’ greatest champion, holding steadfast to win the set in the tie-breaker and extend her career to one final set.
Thus came Serena’s last stand. She trailed 5-1, and it was clear that the depleted Williams did not have the stamina to keep up with Tomljanovic’s relentlessness, as the Australian went toe-to-toe with one of the sport’s great sluggers.
Tomljanovic had match point, but Williams went on the attack, staving off defeat with a backhand volley. Another match point and again, Williams played the aggressor, with a potent cross-court forehand. On match point No.3, Williams smashed the service return for a winner, another defiant roar from the lioness in winter. And so it went for the fourth and the fifth match points as well, although Williams also went for broke and missed badly on two break points.
The match was three hours old when Williams found a last burst of energy to chase down a Tomljanovic drop shot and then leap for a backhand volley for a winner. But again, she couldn’t close it out. Finally, after the 29-year-old Tomljanovic - who later said she stopped keeping track after the second match point - finally cranked out an ace to set up her sixth chance, Williams, still on the attack, missed an approach shot to fall, gamely, for the final time.
Serena Williams congratulates Ajla Tomljanovic after the Australia’s victory.Credit: Getty Images
Tomljanovic ceded the stage to Williams. Before Williams thanked her fans, she started, naturally, with her family. “Thank you Daddy, I know you’re watching,” she said of Richard Williams, before beginning to cry when she thanked her mother Oracene, who was courtside, and her sister Venus, a seven-time grand slam winner.
“It all started with my parents, and I’m really grateful to them. But I also wouldn’t be Serena if not for Venus, so thank you, Venus. She’s the only reason Serena Williams ever existed.
“It’s been a fun ride,” she said, through what she called “happy tears”.
“It’s been the most incredible ride and journey that I’ve ever been on in my life, and I’m just so grateful to every single person that’s said ‘Go Serena’ in my life.
“I’m just so grateful because you got me here.”
Williams’ finale was also one of the greatest and memorable moments of Tomljanovic’s career, which the Australian later reflected on, having grown up watching Williams play.
“I’m feeling really sorry because I love Serena just as much as you guys do and what she’s done for me and the sport of tennis is incredible,” the 29-year-old said.
“I never thought that I’d have a chance to play her in her last match when I remember watching her as a kid in all those finals. So this is a surreal moment for me.
The crowd shows their appreciation for Serena Williams in Arthur Ashe Stadium.Credit: Getty Images
“I just thought she would beat me so the pressure wasn’t on me - she’s Serena. Even ’til the last point, I knew she’s in a really good position to win even if she’s down 5-1. I don’t know how many match points I needed to finish it off but that’s just who she is. She’s the greatest of all time - period.”
Later, when Williams was asked in her press conference what she was most proud of, she joked, “I didn’t smash any racquets and I had a good attitude, so that was a plus,” before adding that in terms of her career, her memorable 2015 French Open win, when she battled illness as much as her opponents, was “one I’m taking with me”.
Williams walks away one major title short of Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam singles crowns. The American champion, though, remains the holder of the most grand slam singles titles in the 54-year era of professional tennis, having eclipsed Steffi Graf’s 22.
All up, she won six US Open titles, Wimbledon and the Australian Open seven times each and the French Open on three occasions, with her last major victory at the 2017 Australian Open when she was three months pregnant with daughter Olympia, defeating Venus in the final.
Williams subsequently lost four more grand slam deciders in her obsessive pursuit of Court’s record, all four in straight sets, at Wimbledon and the US Open in both 2018 and 2019.
Williams gamely fielded question after question about her loss on Saturday (AEST), saying she wished she had started her last comeback a little earlier but had no regrets about walking away.
While pleased with her performances - “clearly I’m still capable” - and the fact that she has been improving, as a “hands-on mum” she is ready to move on with her life.
Having all that time off imposed on her by the COVID-19 pandemic and then her injuries, she added, helped prepare her for what life might look like after tennis, and she was enthusiastically looking forward to it after some rest and relaxation.
“I have such a bright future ahead of me,” Williams said.
And while she didn’t give any specific plans, she did say she intends to stay involved with the sport in some way.
“Tennis has meant so much to me so even though I don’t know how I’ll be involved, yet I cannot imagine not being involved with tennis in some way.”
With AAP
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.