Serena Williams Loses Late-Night Wimbledon Thriller To Tan - UBITENNIS
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Serena Williams Loses Late-Night Wimbledon Thriller To Tan

In what could possibly be her final appearance in singles at The All England Club, Williams was edged out by a French qualifier.

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1 year ago

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The eagerly awaited return of Serena Williams to professional tennis has ended in defeat after she crashed out of the first round at Wimbledon. 

 

Until this week, it has been 12 months since the 40-year-old last played a Tour-level match in singles. Taking on French qualifier Harmony Tan, the American bowed out 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7), after more than three hours of play. Making it the first time she has suffered back-to-back losses in the opening round at Wimbledon after being forced to retire in 2021 due to an ankle injury. 

Williams had a chance to serve for the match at 5-4 in the decider but failed to seize the opportunity. Paving the way for Tan to go on and narrowly prevail in the tiebreaker during what was a sensational encounter with plenty of twists and turns.

“It was really tough. I had some chances in the first set. It didn’t work out, it was just totally different to me.” Williams said during her press conference.
“It was definitely a long battle and fight. It was better than last year.”

Playing in her 21st Wimbledon main draw, Williams got off to a rollercoaster start that saw her fall behind 0-2 before she valiantly battled back with the help of a four-game winning streak. It was visible that she still had tremendous power in her shotmaking despite her lengthy absence from the sport but the inevitable signs of rust were also on display. 

It was for this reason that the opener featured various changes of momentum with 24-year-old Tan drawing level. A player who was playing in the Wimbledon main draw for the first time and briefly broke into the world’s top 100 earlier this year. Tan continued applying the pressure with the clever use of slice shots as she benefited from a series of mistakes from the Tour veteran. Back-to-back mistakes from Williams and then a winning forehand from the Frenchwoman on the next point enabled her to break for a chance to serve the first set out at 6-5. A mission she accomplished with a winning forehand passing shot on set point.  

Williams briefly left the court whilst there was a delay to the match for the roof to come on. Upon her return, she found herself in a mammoth Tan service game which lasted around 20 minutes. A total of 12 deuces were featured before the American converted her sixth break point opportunity by hitting a shot that painted the baseline. That breakthrough would prove to be a turning point in the match as Williams went on to level at one set apiece. 

Exchanging breaks early on in the decider, fatigue began to settle in for both players during what was one of the most dramatic encounters to take place in the women’s draw in recent times. Williams looked to be on the verge of sealing victory after a Tan backhand into the net enabled her to break for a chance to serve the match out at 5-4. It was evident how much the match meant to Williams who threw her hands in the air out of pure relief. However, she failed to capitalize on the opportunity. It would be a gutsy Tan who would go on to prevail in the tiebreaker. Ending Williams’ Wimbledon campaign this year and potentially permanently. 

“I don’t know what to say because I am so emotional but she is a superstar and for my first Wimbledon but it is just … wow,” Tan said in her post-match interview with the BBC. “When I saw the draw I was really scared. It’s Serena Williams. She’s a legend and I was like ‘Oh my God, how can I play?’. I thought if I could win one or two games it would be really good for me.”

The question now is where does Williams go from here? After already establishing herself as one of the all-time greats with 73 Tour titles and more than $94M in prize money earnings, she can easily walk away from the sport with her head held high. Furthermore, she has plenty of other interests to keep her busy. One of which is her multi-million-pound investment fund named Serena Ventures.

“That’s a question I can’t answer. I don’t know. Who knows where I’ll pop up.” She replied when asked about her future in the sport.
“I gave all I could. Maybe tomorrow I could have given more. Maybe a week ago I could have given more. At some point you have to be able to be okay with that. And that’s all I can do. I can’t change time or anything.” She added.

It would be foolish to write Williams off right away with her home Grand Slam, the US Open, later this year. After her defeat to Tan, Williams said it made her want to return to the practice courts. A sign that she isn’t done with tennis just yet. 

“When you’re at home, especially in New York, and the US Open, that being the first place I’ve won a Grand Slam, is something that’s always super special. Your first time is always special.” She said.
“There’s definitely lots of motivation to get better and to play at home.”

As for Tan, she faces 32nd seed Sara Sorribes Tormo in the second round.

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Andy Murray reaches the quarter final in Zhuhai

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17 hours ago

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21/09/2023

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Two-time Olympic champion Andy Murray beat Chinese wild card Mo Ye Cong 7-5 6-3 to advance to the second round at the Huafa Properties Zhuhai Championships. 

 

Murray won three titles at the  Shanghai Masters 1000 in 2010, 2011 and 2016, the ATP 500 in Beijing in 2016 and the ATP 250 in Shenzhen in 2014. 

Murray saved all five break points he faced. The British player bounced back from the disappointment at the US Open, where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov in three sets. 

Murray broke serve at love in the 12th game to close out a hard-fought first set 7-5. The Scotsman fought back from 0-40 down to hold serve in the first game of the second set. 

Murray broke serve at love in the fourth game to open up a 3-1 lead and hit his 10thace of the match to close out the second set 6-3. 

Murray set up a second round match against Aslan Karatsev, who came back from a set and a break down to beat Matteo Arnaldi 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 in 3 hours and 22 minutes. Arnaldi reached the fourth round at the US Open this year. Karatsev and Arnaldi went on serve in the first set en route to the tie-break. Arnaldi earned the first mini-break to take a 4-3 lead. Karatsev pulled back to draw level to 5-5. Karatsev earned his second mini-break to win the tie-break 7-5. on his fifth set point.

Karatsev saved two break points in the first game of the second set. Arnaldi broke serve in the fourth game to take a 4-3 lead. Karatsev broke straight in the fifth game. Arnaldi went up a second break to take a 5-4 lead earning the chance to serve for the match, but Karatsev pulled back on serve for the second time to draw level to 5-5. Arnaldi went up a mini-break to take a 4-2 lead, but Karatsev won five of the next six points with two mini-breaks to close out the tie-break 7-5. Karatsev broke twice in the first and third games  Arnaldi saved three match points on serve at 1-5, but Karatsev served out the win on his fifth match point. 

Karatsev broke his losing streak of four consecutive defeats against Italian players. 

Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat Australian qualifier Luke Saville 6-4 6-4 to set up a quarter final match against Next Gen ATP Czech Dalibor Svrcina 6-4 6-4. 

Australian qualifier Marc Polmans cruised past David Sweeny 6-3 6-1 to set up a quarter final against Cameron Norrie. Polmans has won the sixth match of his career on hard court and his first since the Australian Open 2022. 

Kimmer Coppejans beat Aleksandar Kovacevic 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 to win his first ATP Tourn match. 

Alex Bolt was leading 6-3 4-2 when Diego Schwartzman was forced to withdraw from the match. 

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Roman Safiulin cruises past Brandon Nakashima at the Chengdu Open

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2 days ago

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20/09/2023

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Roman Safiulin cruised past Brandon Nakashima 6-4 6-4 in 88 minutes to reach the second round at the Chengdu Open. 

 

Safiulin hit 22 winners to Nakashima’s 17 and did not face a break point. He broke once in each set. 

“I think the most important thing was to hold my serve and just try to get some break points and try to use them. That was the main goal for the match”, said Saifiulin. 

Safiulin reached his first Grand Slam quarter final at Wimbledon moving up to world number 43 in the ATP Ranking. The Russian player set up a second round match against fourth seed Daniel Evans. 

Corentin Moutet beat Chinese wild card Mu Tao 6-2 6-2. The Frenchman set up either Miomir Kecmanovic or qualifier Benjamin Lock. Moutet earned an early break in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. Mu broke straight back to draw level to 2-2. Moutet won the final four games with two breaks to close out the first set 6-2. The Frenchman broke twice in the fifth and seventh games to seal the second set 6-2. 

Taro Daniel came back from one set down to beat Alexander Vukic 4-6 6-2 6-2. Daniel will face either Christopher O’Connell or Alibek Kachmazov. Vukic broke serve in the fourth game of the first set to take a 3-1 lead. Daniel broke back to love in the seventh game and held serve to draw level to 4-4. Vukic broke for the time in the 10th time to win the first set 6-4. 

Daniel broke in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. Vukic broke back to draw level to 3-3. Daniel earned a second break in the ninth game to seal the second set 6-2 forcing the match to the decider. Daniel broke twice in the first and seventh games to win the second set 6-2. 

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Caroline Garcia, Victoria Azarenka and Ons Jabeur to reach the Round of 16 at the Guadalajara Open

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2 days ago

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20/09/2023

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Number 3 seed Caroline Garcia saved two match points to beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 at the Guadalajara Open AKRON. 

 

Garcia was a point away from losing to Sasnovich for the first time after five consecutive wins as the world number 89 was serving for the win at 6-4 6-5. 

Garcia fended off a break point in her first service game before earning a decisive break at love at 3-3.

Garcia set up a third round match against Hailey Bapriste, who saved a match point to upset Karolina Pliskova. 

“We saw a few forehands directly in the wall behind the court, but it is what it is. I am very happy with the way I managed to fight at the end of the second set. I lost a little bit my serve at the end of the first set, but I managed to come back. It’s a great win, and I definitely wins”, said Garcia.  

Former world 1 Victoria Azarenka beat Dayana Yastremska 6-4 7-6 (7-5). Azarenka earned a break in the third game to seal the first set 6-4. Yastremska broke serve at love in the second game to open up a 2-0 lead. Azarenka broke straight back in the third game. Yastremska broke for the second time at love in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. Azarenka broke serve for the second time before saving two set points at 5-4 in the second set. Both players traded the mini-break three times in the tie-break. Azarenka earned his fourth mini-break to win the tie-break 7-5. 

Azarenka set up a third round match against Veronika Kudemertova, who won both of their head-to-head matches in Dubai in 2022 and at the Adelaide International 2 in 2023. 

Ons Jabeur cruised past Alycia Parks 6-2 6-2 in 59 minutes to improve her head-to-record against the US record to 3-0. Jabeur had previously beaten Parks in Charleston in 2021 and Berlin in 2022. 

Jabeur is aiming her second WTA 1000 title of her career after winning at the Madrid Mutua Open in 2022. 

Jabeur broke with a passing winner in the first game. Parks made 26 unforced errors in the first set. 

Jabeur earned an early break at love in the first game of the second set. Parks broke back in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Jabeur won the next four games to seal the second set 6-2. 

Jabeur converted five of her break points. Parks hit six aces and made seven double faults. 

Jabeur set up a Round of 16 match against Martina Trevisan, who beat Jasmine Paolini 7-5 6-2. The Tunisian player beat Trevisan 6-2 6-2 in Charleston in 2021. 

Maria Sakkari beat Storm Hunter 6-2 6-4 to set up a Round of 16 match against Camila Giorgi. Sakkari leads 3-0 in her previous head-to-head matches against Giorgi. Emma Navarro beat number 4 seed Madison Keys 6-2 7-6 (7-5) to set up a Round of 16 match against Leylah Fernandez.

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