Serena Williams of the United States waves goodbye. Photo / Getty
Serena Williams of the United States waves goodbye. Photo / Getty
Leave it to Serena Williams to not want to go quietly, to not want this match, this trip to the US Open, this transcendent career of hers, to truly end.
Right down to what were, barring a change of heart, the final minutes of her quarter-century of excellence on the tennis court, Williams tried to mount one last classic comeback, earn one last vintage victory, with fans on their feet in a full Arthur Ashe Stadium, cellphone cameras at the ready.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion staved off five match points to prolong the three-hour-plus proceedings, but could not do more, and was eliminated from the US Open in the third round by Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 in what is expected to be her final contest.
She turns 41 this month and recently told the world that she is ready to start "evolving" away from her playing days — she expressed distaste for the word "retirement" — and while she remained purposely vague about whether this appearance at Flushing Meadows definitely would represent her last hurrah, everyone assumed it will be.
"It's been the most incredible ride and journey I've ever been on in my life," Williams said, tears streaming down her cheeks shortly after one final shot landed in the net. "I'm so grateful to every single person that's ever said, 'Go, Serena!' in their life."
Asked during an on-court interview whether she might reconsider walking away, Williams replied: "I don't think so, but you never know."
A little later, pressed on the same topic at her post-match news conference, Williams joked, "I always did love Australia," the country that hosts the next Grand Slam tournament in January.
With two victories in singles this week, including over the No 2 player in the world, Anett Kontaveit, Williams took her fans on a thrill-a-minute throwback trip at the hard-court tournament that was the site of a half-dozen of her championships. The first came in 1999 in New York, when Williams was a teen. Now she's married and a mother; her daughter, Olympia, turned five on Friday.
"Clearly, I'm still capable. [But] I'm ready to be a mom, explore a different version of Serena," she said. "Technically, in the world, I'm still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I'm still walking."
With 23,859 fans cheering raucously, Williams faltered against Tomljanovic, a 29-year-old Australian who is ranked 46th. Williams gave away leads in each set, including the last, in which she was up 1-0 before dropping the final six games.
Tomljanovic is unabashedly a fan of Williams, having growing up watching her play on TV.
"I'm feeling really sorry, just because I love Serena just as much as you guys do. And what she's done for me, for the sport of tennis, is incredible," said Tomljanovic, who has never been past the quarter-finals at any major. "This is a surreal moment for me." Then, drawing laughs, Tomljanovic added: "I just thought she would beat me. She's Serena. That's just who she is: She's the greatest of all time. Period."
Williams' performance showed grit and featured some terrific serving, but it was not perfect.
On one point in the second set, Williams' feet got tangled and she fell to the court, dropping her racket. She finished with 51 unforced errors, 21 more than Tomljanovic.
Williams let a 5-3 lead vanish in the first set. She did something similar in the second, giving away edges of 4-0 and 5-2, and requiring five set points to finally put that one in her pocket. From 4-all in the tiebreaker, meaning Williams was three points from defeat, she pounded an ace, hit a forehand winner to cap a 20-stroke exchange, then watched Tomljanovic push a forehand long.
But she could not pull off the sort of never-admit-defeat triumph she did so often over the years.
Serena Williams has been knocked out of the US Open. Photo / AP
"Oh, my God, thank you so much. You guys were amazing. I tried," Williams told the audience, before mentioning, among others, her parents and her older sister, Venus, a seven-time major champion who is 42.
"I wouldn't be Serena if there wasn't Venus. So thank you, Venus," Williams said. "She's the only reason that Serena Williams ever existed."
With Williams gone, and 2019 winner Bianca Andreescu eliminated by No 17 Caroline Garcia, there will be a first-time US Open women's champion.
It could be Coco Gauff, an 18-year-old American who reached the final at the French Open in June and made it to the fourth round at the US Open for the first time with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Madison Keys, or fifth seed and Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur, who beat No 31 Shelby Rogers 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
In the men's bracket, defending champion Daniil Medvedev beat Wu Yibing of China 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 is set to meet Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios, the No 23 seed who swept past American JJ Wolf 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
French Open runner-up Casper Ruud edged 29th-seeded Tommy Paul in five sets, while No 27 Karen Khachanov moved on when his opponent, Jack Draper, stopped playing in the third set because of an injured hamstring.
Four-time major champion Andy Murray bowed out, beaten by 13th seed and 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-3.
"I've got a metal hip. It's not easy playing with that. It's really difficult. I'm surprised I'm still able to compete with guys that are right up at the top of the game," the 35-year-old said.
