A deafening wall of noise inside Arthur Ashe Stadium marked every small victory Serena Williams earned as she stood one tie-break away from her demise in the second set of the breathless, unforgettable final match of her career.
In the opening set, she had a 5-3 lead but eventually lost it. Her four set points in the second set vanished instantly when she built a 5-2 lead. She was stopped every time by rust, tension, and nervousness.
Williams fought, like she has done for 27 years, even when nothing went her way. She pounded off forehands, letting out loud, piercing moans after each strike. She sprinted after each and every ball while pumping her fists and cheering herself on. She managed to win the second set tie-break by smashing a scorching forehand winner off a 20-shot rally, which was one of her last acts of resistance.
It was insufficient. Williams's last victory came two days earlier in the second round against the second seed, Anett Kontaveit. Every second of her final three hours and five minutes on the court as a professional player, however, as she lost to Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1, was spent urgently trying to find a solution.
Tomljanovic, an Australian of Croatian descent who has spent the majority of her career in the 38–80 range, has significantly improved. Williams' Arthur Ashe home has been distinguished by noise, spectacle, and drama every night. However, Tomljanovic has more experience dealing with ferociously partisan crowds than most after crushing Emma Raducanu in the Wimbledon fourth-round.
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But that match was on Court One at Wimbledon, and she was playing the man she had grown to admire in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium. But she was prepared from the start. She beat Williams' opening serve to begin the match, setting the tone for the fierce opposition she would present with a forehand winner down the line. She was a wall, soaking all the speed Williams brought while attacking every short ball and deflecting everything into the middle with impeccable depth.
Williams was even superior in many areas. The inconsistent Williams' performance on opening night and early on Friday contrasted drastically. She was nimble for a largThe audience cheered during and after her attempts, giving standing ovations only for successful breaks. They were the viewers who were due to witness Williams' final act.
At 5-1, Tomljanovic tried to win the game with a serve, but it was unsuccessful. Williams fought back and destroyed the ball each time she faced a match-ending situation, delaying retirement a little bit. It was so commonplace. Williams had five chances to win the game, but she could only postpone it.e portion of the game, moving her feet, attacking the ball freely, and sweeping forward without pausing.
She had everything she needed to win and continue this wild journey, but at the crucial moments, her lack of match fitness and the gravity of the situation caught up with her. Simply put, she lacked nerve.
When she first started out, when she was in full flow, it was difficult to keep from wondering just how long she might extend this run. But this isn't a place of fairy tales. The latter part of Williams' career, however, has been much more significant.
Even though many people thought she had other interests, she continued to play. With the exception of her sister, Venus, she has outlived every single one of her contemporaries by more than a decade. Grand Slam matches were won by her in her adolescent years, 20s, 30s, and 40s. The amount of time she spent there and the number of times she returned are the best indications of how much she loved the sport. She continued to play all the way until the very finish.
