After spending her vacation in Greece, the 23-time Major winner, Serena Williams, is back on the practice court. Serena joined her sister Venus in Washington, although we will not see her at the next week’s Citi Open. Williams should compete in Toronto between August 8-14, taking a wild card and signing to play only her second singles tournament after the last year’s Wimbledon.
The veteran made a surprising comeback in Eastbourne in June, competing in the doubles draw alongside Ons Jabeur before entering her 21st Wimbledon. The seven-time All England Club champion experienced a tough 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 loss to world no.
115 Harmony Tan in three hours and 11 minutes in the opening round. Williams served for the victory in the third set’s closing stages and opened a 4-0 lead in the match tie break.
Serena Williams is back on the practice court.
She ran out of steam and wasted those opportunities to hit the exit door against the Wimbledon debutant.
Williams found her A-game in the second set and had a chance to emerge at the top in the decider and move closer to her 100th Wimbledon win. Instead, she dropped the match tie break 10-7 to propel the rival through. Serena won five points more thanks to the second set, but it was not enough to propel her through, despite massive support from the crowd.
The American experienced an early break in the opener before rattling off four straight games for 4-2. Tan took charge after that, breaking back and securing another return game at 5-5. The French player saved a break point in game 12 to claim the first set and earn a boost.
Serena was the only player on the court in set number two, dominating on serve and return to leave the rival behind. Williams raced into a 5-0 lead and wrapped up the set 6-1 on her serve to force a decider. Serena moved 3-1 up in the third set before Harmony locked the result at 3-3 for more drama.
Williams secured another break at 4-4 and served for the victory in game ten. Barely having anything left in the tank, Serena played loose shots and pulled the rival back to 5-5. The American saved a match point on serve in game 12 to introduce the match tie break and opened a 4-0 lead.
Tan claimed five straight points to erase the deficit and seized the first match point at 9-7 for the proudest moment of her career. Serena debuted in Canada in 2000 and retired against Martina Hingis in the final. She claimed titles in 2001, 2003 and 2013 before losing in the semi-final in 2014 and 2015. Williams was the finalist in Toronto 2019, but she retired against Bianca Andreescu after a couple of games.
