What she has for me and the sport of tennis is incredible and I never thought I would have the chance to play her in her last match.”

Tomljanovic also handled the on-court interview with great class, telling Mary Joe Fernandez that “I am feeling really sorry because I love Serena just as much as you guys. Little by little, she wore down Williams’s endurance and took advantage of the 11-year age gap. While Tomljanovic’s ranking might be unspectacular, at No46 in the world, she is an unusually clean ball-striker who delivers a heavy punch off both wings.ĭespite a sticky period early in the second set, when an inspired Williams ran out to a 4-0 lead, Tomljanovic made sure that the contest was physical throughout. The standard of the opposition, and of the match itself, was considerably higher than it had been during that memorable night on Centre Court. It was the first time she had gone past three hours at the US Open, although the duration of 3hr 5min fell just short of the 3hr 11min she lasted against Tan at Wimbledon. And yet, to Tomljanovic’s credit, she held her nerve in the face of what could well have been the loudest cheers ever heard on this stadium.Įventually, at the sixth time of asking, Williams put one last forehand in the net and the contest was over, by a 7-5, 6-7, 6-1 scoreline. Four more match points came and went, as Williams kept coming up with world-class groundstrokes as if she were playing at her very peak.

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