Friday, September 2nd 2022, 9:27 pm
Arguably the greatest career in the history of tennis has seemingly come to an end. Serena Williams is out of the 2022 US Open after a 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 loss to Ajla Tomljanovic on Friday night.
It was a tight match throughout, highlighted by big momentum swings and incredible shotmaking by both players. But what will be remembered more than anything that happened in the actual match will be the lasting image of what very-well may be the final time Williams took the court at the US Open.
The 40-year-old, 23-time Grand Slam champion's plan to move away from tennis has been well documented since she made the announcement in early August that her playing days were coming to a close as she looks forward to growing her family and business ventures.
While there will be a lifetime to grow and nurture her home life as she transitions away from the court, this night was about her lifetime spent on it. Over the last two decades, Williams has regularly said she gets every player's best shot, and that's what she got in her third-round loss to Tomljanovic, whose grit and mental toughness were reminiscent of the icon across the net.
Down 5-3 in the first set and then 5-2 in the second, Tomljanovic kept pressure on Williams' forehand which was shaky tonight and accounted for many of her 50 unforced errors to battle back and win the first set and force a second-set tie break, before closing the deal in the third.
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