failed to return
Williams failed to deal with the outer tan
06/29/2022, 12:31 AM
A year after a serious hamstring injury, Serena Williams is back at Wimbledon. However, fans hope in vain for a triumphant return: the tennis queen is far from her former form.
Serena Williams really celebrated as if she won Wimbledon. On your knees with your arms in the air. However she had to suffer her most bitter defeat a little later in the Holy Grass of the Central Court. After a year off, Williams lost to French outside player Harmony Tan 5-7, 6-1, 6-7 (7-10).
In her stunning 3:11-hour comeback, the 23-times Grand Slam winner delivered a drama that the tennis world has had to do without for so long. The brave Tan, ranked 115th in the world and a debutante at Wimbledon, played more than just a supporting role.
Tan kept his cool to the end.
(Photo: AP)
But the truth also belongs: for long periods, Williams was just a shadow of the great tennis player of the past, which Tan still says in his disbelief in the winning interview: “She’s such a star. When I was young, I always saw her on TV. That’s cool !”
But only now and then did Williams’ skills shine through – and the audience was always cheering. He wanted to continue the spectacle that had kept the All England Club in suspense for days. He wanted to whip Williams to victory. But Tan responded successfully. As the excitement reached its climax in the tiebreak, she kept her cool.
Tan had nothing to lose
It was Williams’ 21st Championship on Church Street. Last year, she retracted to District Court and retired from injury. But she wanted to do it again, at the age of 40, with a daughter, an investment company, and all the obligations that life as a star came with in the States. Among them: Appearing at the Oscars or the Met Gala.
The one thing she didn’t play again was tennis until just before Wimbledon, when she returned in doubles at Eastbourne. However, doubts remained about its shape. Tan knew of the weaknesses in the movement of the feet, and she knew that the seven-times Wimbledon champion was no longer the outstanding player she was before. And she had nothing to lose.
Williams and Tan had to wait a bit, Rafael Nadal made it exciting and needed three and a half hours to take his four-set win on center court. Then the stage finally returned to Williams again, who has won one major title more than the Spaniard.
Husband Alexis Ohanian, Sister Venus and mother Orasin were seen in the box. Very calm at first, then gets more and more tense. In the end, Williams had to congratulate Tan on the grid, who initially did not believe her victory.
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