Serena Williams’ Final Match Befits A Legend
Serena Williams’ legendary U.S. Open career ended on Friday night, in a three-set magnum opus that lasted over three hours.
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The 40-year-old ultimately fell to Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 to bow out gracefully in the third round.
Williams gave everything she had in the loss, the longest match of her U.S. Open career.
The first two sets were incredibly tight, as Tomljanovic found ways to battle back after Williams went up a break in the first set and multiple breaks in the second.
The Australian 29-year-old rebounded from being down 5-3 to take the first set and pushed Williams into a tiebreaker from down 5-2 in the second.
Williams dealt with noticeable fatigue in her third match in as many days but still slammed home a number of signature aces to win the second set.
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Williams forced a third set, and the final 6-1 scoreline of the decider doesn’t do justice to the 23-time Grand Slam winner’s fight in what could have been the final game of her career.
The last game of the match saw eight deuces over 14 minutes, and Williams saved five match points before Tomljanovic could finally clinch.
The calm demeanor Tomljanovic showed when Williams broke her in the first two sets was some of the best work of the World No. 46’s career.
Meanwhile…
The loss cuts short Williams’ surge into the second week of her final Slam, but her record speaks for itself.
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She finishes 42-0 in the first two rounds of the U.S. Open in her illustrious career.
Her third-round loss provides something of a bookend to her career, as it matches her earliest exit from the tourney in her 1998 debut.
Every second of Williams’ time on a tennis court has been a gift, and she gave everything she had to make fans remember her final hours on Arthur Ashe Court.
When asked if this week made her reconsider the end, Williams said “I don’t think so, but you never know. I don’t know.”
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