His return to Grand Slam action at Wimbledon on Tuesday – a three-hour, 11-minute fight with Frenchman Harmony Tan – was theatrical, exciting, but ultimately ended in defeat.
In the longest match of the women’s singles draw to date, Tan, number 115 in the world and who made his first appearance at Wimbledon, let alone on the main stage of the central court, kept his nerves in the super tiebreaker decisive to win. 7-5 1-6 7-6 (10-7).
Obviously, this wasn’t the most vintage performance of Williams ’illustrious career, nor would he ever be given time away from the game.
But as the roof closed and the lights came on in the center court, a scene that elicited ohs and ahs from those watching, the two players put on a show that offered a drama.
In the end, it was Tan who crashed Williams’ comeback party, producing on several occasions shots that even deserved the applause of his rival on the other side of the net.
“For my first Wimbledon, it’s wow. Wow,” Tan said, wordlessly, in his interview on the court.
Few attendees might disagree.
As for Williams, who turned 40 last September, he refuses to give up his pursuit of a 24th Grand Slam title, five years after winning his last at the Australian Open.
“Who knows where he will appear,” he told reporters when asked about his future, even suggesting that an appearance at the U.S. Open could be scheduled for later this year.
“The U.S. Open, which is the first place I’ve won a Grand Slam, is something that’s always very special,” Williams added. “Your first time is always special. There’s definitely a lot of motivation to improve and play at home.”
Oxidation had to be expected during Williams ’return to Wimbledon and it took him a while to find some pace against Tan. Before Tuesday, his only competitive outing over the past year had been two doubles matches at Eastbourne last week.
He broke in the first game, but in the fourth he had started to find his feet: hitting his ground shots more cleanly while hitting with a double break from Tan’s serve.
The first set, however, was indicative of the match as a whole: just as Williams seemed to have an advantage over his opponent, Tan would return to the fight.
This was the case several times in the final set, as Williams led twice with a break, then took an early lead in the decisive super tie break, only because Tan won 10 of the next 13 points and scored his greatest victory. career.
Tuesday’s game was a clear contrast of styles. Williams ’attacking display was incredible as he scored 61 winners, a mix of ground hits with hits and sweet driving volleys, interspersed with 54 unforced errors.
So, on the other hand, she was more conservative and relied heavily on her portion to move Williams down the track, a tactic the American later admitted had taken her by surprise.
“I think I could have played anyone, [it] “It probably would have had a different result,” he said. “I knew there was a lot going on when I got in, but not so much on the right. I definitely had to try to find my pace out there. You know, the retrospective is 20/20.”
The positive for Williams, who retired against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round of Wimbledon last year after slipping and injuring his leg, was that his body held up well to Tan.
“Physically he was fine,” he added. “The last couple of points I started to feel a lot. But I’m moving well, I’m recovering a lot of balls. I’m moving well in training.
“That didn’t surprise me because I knew it was going well. I didn’t train for, you know, a three-hour game. I guess that’s where I went wrong.”
Before Wimbledon, Williams reflected on how tennis is no longer his only focus in life. Off the runway, motherhood, her venture venture, and the premiere of the film King Richard, which she helped produce, have taken up her time.
“It’s been totally different, honestly. A part of me feels like it’s a little more of my life now than tournaments,” he said last week.
But that doesn’t mean Williams is fully prepared to say goodbye to tennis, even if she’s not yet decided on when and where her next appearance will be.
And in any case, the defeat against Tan has caused the fires of tennis to burn a little more.
“It definitely makes me want to go to the training grounds,” he said, “because when you’re playing it’s not bad and you’re so close … it’s actually like,“ Okay, Serena, you can do that if you want. ‘”