Her return to Wimbledon’s Grand Slam tournament on Tuesday – a three-hour and 11-minute battle with France’s Harmony Tan – was theatrical, captivating, but ultimately defeated.
In the longest women’s singles game to date, Tan, who ranked number 115 in the world and made his first Wimbledon appearance, not to mention the main stage on the Central Court, kept his nerves in the decisive super tie break for victory 7-5 1-6 7-6 (10-7).
This was clearly not the oldest performance in Williams’ illustrious career, nor would she ever be given time out of the game.
But when the roof closed and the lights came on in the center court – a scene that caused oh and ah from the spectators – the two players put on a show that surpassed the drama.
In the end, Tan was the one who smashed Williams’ return party, hitting several times that even won applause from her opponent on the other side of the net.
“For my first Wimbledon, it’s wow. It’s just wow,” Tan said, lost in words, in an interview on the court.
Few present might disagree.
As for Williams, who turned 40 last September, she refuses to give up her pursuit of a record-breaking 24th Grand Slam title, five years after taking her last Australian Open title.
“Who knows where I’ll jump,” she told reporters when asked about her future, even suggesting she could appear at the US Open later this year.
“The US Open – this is the first place I’ve won a Grand Slam tournament – is something that is always super special,” Williams added. “Your first time is always special. There’s definitely a lot of motivation to get better and play at home.”
Rust was to be expected during Williams’ return to Wimbledon, and it took her a while to find any sense of rhythm against Tan. Before Tuesday, her only competitive appearance in the last year was two doubles matches in Eastbourne last week.
She was broken in the first game, but by the fourth she was starting to find her feet – striking cleaner from the ground after she responded with a double break on Tan’s serve.
However, the first set turned out to be indicative of the match as a whole: just when it seemed that Williams had the upper hand over his opponent, Tan would make his way back into the dispute.
This was the case several times in the final set, when Williams led twice with a breakthrough, then competed in an early lead in the decisive super tie break, only for Tan to win 10 of the next 13 points and win the biggest victory of her career. .
Tuesday’s match was a clear contrast in style. Williams’ offensive demonstration was hit and missed as it drew 61 winners – a mix of punches to the ground and sweet punches – mixed with 54 unforced errors.
Tan, on the other hand, was more conservative and relied heavily on her part to move Williams around the court, a tactic that the American later admitted surprised her.
“I think I could play anyone, [it] it would probably have had a different result, “she said.” I knew there were a lot of cuts, but not so much from the forehand. I definitely had to try to find my rhythm there. You know, the back date is 20/20. “
On the plus side, Williams, who retired against Alexandra Sasnovich in the first round of last year’s Wimbledon after slipping and injuring her leg, was that her body held up well against Tan.
“I was physically well,” she added. “I really started to feel the last few points. But I move well, I get a lot of balls back. I move well in training.
“It was not surprising to me because I knew I was doing well. I didn’t train, you know, a three-hour game.
Before Wimbledon, Williams thought about how tennis was no longer her only focus in life. Off the court, motherhood, her risky company and the release of the film King Richard, which she helped produce, took her time.
“It was completely different, to be honest. Part of me feels like it’s a little more of my life now than tournaments,” she said last week.
But that doesn’t mean Williams is ready to say goodbye to tennis – even if she hasn’t decided when and where her next appearance will be.
And if nothing else, the defeat against Tan made the fire in the tennis burn a little brighter.
“It definitely makes me want to get on the training courts,” she said, “because when you’re not playing badly and you’re so close … it’s actually something like, ‘Okay, Serena, you can do this if you want.'”
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