Serena Williams has praised the influence of Tiger Woods as she revealed the golf icon persuaded her to return to action before retiring - and he was in attendance during her second round win at the US Open.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion will walk away from the sport after the US Open, the fourth and final major tournament of the season. Many have hailed Williams as the ‘Greatest Of All Time’ and hoped to see her perhaps match Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles.
Williams has been in scintillating form at the tournament so far, and she defeated second-seed Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-2 to reach the third round. She is hoping to end her career with a dream seventh US Open title ahead of her retirement - or ‘evolution’, as she wrote in Vogue.
In her retirement announcement, Williams revealed Woods had offered advice on whether to contest a final tournament. On Wednesday, the 40-year-old said: “He’s one of the reasons I’m here, one of the main reasons I’m still playing. We talked a lot. He was really trying to get me motivated.
“There’s a few people, but we were like, ‘OK, we can do this together’. It was good, because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was just lost, so many questions.
“When you can rely on someone like that – I mean, my goodness, he’s Tiger Woods – it was really helpful to get clarity.”
It appears her return to the sport was a particularly wise idea, as Williams has performed spectacularly in front of a sold-out attendance. The partisan crowd have proudly supported the iconic American thus far and she will be back in action against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic tomorrow.
Do you think Serena Williams is the greatest women's tennis player of all-time? Let us know in the comments section.
“It’s no rush here,” Williams said. “I’m loving this crowd. There’s still a little left in me. We’ll see. I’m a pretty good player, this is what I do best. I love a challenge and I’m rising to the challenge.
“I haven’t played many matches, but I’ve been practising really well. The last couple of matches it’s come together. After I lost the second set I thought, ‘I’ve got to give my best effort because this could be it’.
“I’m just looking at it as a bonus. I don’t have anything to lose. I’ve had an X on my back since 1999. I really enjoy just coming out and enjoying it.”
Elsewhere, 2021 finalist Leylah Fernandez followed US Open champion Emma Raducanu in crashing out early as she was defeated 6-3 7-6 (7-3) by Russian star Liudmila Samsonova. Third seed Maria Sakkari also lost, falling 3-6 7-5 7-5 to China’s Wang Xiyu.
