“You never know,” Serena Williams remains ‘vague’ about her retirement after clinching the opener in US Open 2022
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Serena Williams
Former World No. 1 Serena Williams returned to her old hunting ground at the Flushing Meadows for the 2022 US Open. Up against Danka Kovinic, Serena won the match 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour and 40 minutes in front of a packed crowd in the Arthur Ashe Stadium as the American is set to retire from the sport at the end of the tournament.
It was a good performance put in by Serena who hit 9 aces and made 6 double faults while Danka managed 5 aces and 6 double faults as well. Serena hit 23 winners to Danka’s 18 with both players making 25 unforced errors each. Serena came out on the top with 76 points to Danka’s 52 as the American’s net game and ability to convert the breakpoints eventually helped her clinch the win and move into the second round.
“We’ve come too far together to just not have anything to do with it,”: Serena Williams on her future with tennis
With Serena rocking the world earlier this month when she talked about retiring at the end of the US Open, preparations were made to celebrate the 23-time Grand Slam champion at the end of the match irrespective of the match’s result. Williams was welcomed to a loud and warm reception and had the crowd backing her the entire time making it quite emotional for her.
“I’ve been pretty vague about it (retirement), right? I’m going to stay vague because you never know. I think when I walked out, the reception was really overwhelming. It was loud and I could feel it in my chest. It was a really good feeling. It’s a feeling I’ll never forget, so I really – yeah, that meant a lot to me. I was just thinking, like, Is this for real? Really? At the same time, I’m also thinking, I still have a match to play and I want to be able to play up to this reception almost. It was so loud. I just was overwhelmed in a good way.
“Yeah, but at the same time it’s like you have to be focused, you have to be laser-focused. That’s what I needed to do and that’s what I tried to do. I prefer the word ‘evolution’ because I feel like I’m at a stage of my life where I’m not necessarily retiring, I’m just evolving from tennis. And I do feel different. I think I was really emotional in Toronto and Cincinnati. It was very difficult. I’m not saying it’s not difficult now. It’s extremely difficult still because I absolutely love being out there,” said Serena speaking in her post-match press conference.
“The more tournaments I play, I feel like the more I can belong out there. That’s a tough feeling to have, and to leave knowing the more you do it, the more you can shine. But it’s time for me, you know, to evolve to the next thing. I think it’s important because there’s so many other things that I want to do, et cetera. I love the sport and I feel like the sport, it’s given me so much.
“It’s given me a platform that I never even thought I would have all because of tennis. I don’t see myself not a part of tennis. I don’t know how I’m going to be a part of tennis as of right now. I just don’t know how. But I just feel like we’ve come too far together to just not have anything to do with it,” added the American further assuring the fans that she will be involved in some capacity with tennis in the future as well.
“Next one is even more difficult,”: Serena Williams on her 2nd round match
With the win over Kovinic, Serena will now take on World No. 2 and the second-seeded Anett Kontaveit for a place in the third round. Kontaveit has been brilliant on hardcourts over the past couple of seasons and will certainly pose a big threat to the retiring American.
”I think every opponent is very difficult. I’ve seen that over the summer. The next one is even more difficult. It’s good that I was able to get this under my belt. I don’t know, I’m just not even thinking about that. I’m just thinking about just this moment. I think it’s good for me just to live in the moment now,” said Serena about her next match lacking the bold confidence she used to have but at the same time showing that she is not afraid to take on any player.
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Sarthak Shitole
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