BEVERLY HILLS, February 18, (THEWILL) – Tennis superstar Serena Williams broke down in tears at her post-match press conference before abruptly bringing it to an end and leaving the table in the aftermath of her loss to world number three Naomi Osaka in the semi-finals of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
The Japanese number three seed qualified for her second final at the Open Down Under 6-3 6-4, an emphatic demonstration of her clinical execution against the 23-time Grand Slam winner, who failed to produce her natural game despite an initially confident start.
The wait for what is becoming an elusive 24th Grand Slam singles title to equal Australian Margaret Court’s record will continue for Williams. And the pressure appears to pile on with every slam where it does not happen especially as age creeps up on her. It was obvious in her post-match press conference, as she struggled to keep her composure.
“It was a big error day for me today,” the 39-year-old admitted right off the bat. “The difference today was errors. Honestly, it was opportunities where I could have won. I could have been up five-love. I just made so many errors.
“I had so many opportunities, it was just, I made too many mistakes there and easy mistakes. Not like I was on the run or anything. They were just easy, easy mistakes.”
With the crowds back court-side at the Rod Laver Arena, after the expiration of the snap coronavirus lockdown in Victoria to deal with contact-tracing against a variant of the virus that had broken out in Melbourne, there were fans to give Williams a standing ovation as she departed the scene.
In acknowledgement of their support, she put her hand on her heart, smiled and waved back at them.
During the post-match interview, Williams was asked if that act was intended as a final farewell to Melbourne Park, where she holds a record seven titles in the Open era, the 39-year-old was coy in her reply, “I don’t know, if I ever say farewell I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
The powerful start she had against Osaka gave her an immediate advantage which she rode on to a quick 2-0 lead in the first set to set herself up confidently for progress but it went south from there. Asked if it was just a bad day at the office, her emotions got the better of her and all she could say was, “I don’t know. I’m done.”
She then left the room in tears.
In pursuit of a fourth Grand Slam title, Osaka will face Jennifer Brady in the final for what could be her second Australian Open title. One of her three titles is the 2019 title she won at Melbourne.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
