Wayne Lumbasi
Serena Williams’ singles comeback was not meant to be, as the 23-time Grand Slam champion crashed to a heartbreaking loss in her opener at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
Ultimately, Tan, 24, defeated Williams, 40, eliminating the tennis legend from Wimbledon in the first round. The athletes competed for a total of three hours and 10 minutes.
With the stage of her seven triumphs more recently the scene of an untimely slip, understandably Williams started with trepidation when playing her first singles match for a year.
Williams had the upper hand early in the tiebreaker, scoring the first four points. But Tan battled back to take a commanding 9-7 lead on serve. Serena couldn’t come back from there, as Tan held serve to win 10-7, pulling off the upset victory.
Tan, who had only ever won two grand slam main draw matches compared to the 98 won at Wimbledon alone by Williams, could hardly believe what she had done after clinching by far the biggest victory of her modest career.
“I’m so emotional now. Serena is a superstar and when I was young I was watching her so many times on the TV,” Tan said.
“For my first Wimbledon, it’s wow. Just wow.”
Tan will face Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo in the women’s second round. The 2022 Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the year, started on Monday and will run through July 10.