One and done.
But what a one-match return it was for Serena Williams, who was eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday by France’s Harmony Tan in a three-set marathon.
The match went about three hours and wasn’t settled until Tan captured a tie-break 10-7 in the third set. Williams was up 4-0 in the 10-point tiebreak.
The final was 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7) for Tan,
Williams had a chance to serve for the match in the third set but could not close out her determined French opponent.
This was Williams’ first match in a year since she was injured at Wimbledon.
Williams was up against an opponent in Tan who battled and never gave in to the 23-time Major champion.
William is 40 years old and has been chasing that elusive 24th major for years.
Per ESPN.com:
In the deciding set, Williams broke Tan in the third game and held serve for a 3-1 lead, but Tan refused to quit. The French player kept the former No. 1 off balance, winning three straight games as Williams’ unforced errors started to rise to take a 4-3 lead.
Williams fell behind 15-30 in the next game, but hit reset to win three consecutive points that included an ace to tie it at 4. In the following game, Williams hit a clutch drop shot to go up 30-15 — dropping to her knees afterward to celebrate — and then closed out the service break to lead 5-4.
Tan again picked herself up, breaking Williams’ attempt to close out the match on serve to tie it at 5. Williams, clearly tired, took a 30-15 lead in the next game but was unable to hold on.
