US OPEN 2022: Tomljanovic ENDS Serena Williams FAIRYTALE run in US OPEN, 23 Grand Slam winner BIDS GOODBYE with tears: Check OUT

US OPEN 2022: Tomljanovic ENDS Serena Williams FAIRYTALE run in US OPEN, 23 Grand Slam winner BIDS GOODBYE with tears: Check OUT

Serena vs Tomljanovic LIVE: Tomljanovic, 29, came into the match in peak form, having won 15 of her last 19 matches. Like Danka Kovinic and second-seeded Anett Kontaveit before her, she got an up-close-and-personal glimpse of what it’s like to face an icon on her home turf, 29,000-plus partisan souls seemingly rooting against her.

The self-described ‘Serena 2.0,’ her hair bejeweled and moving better than she has in years, looked to be in control of the opening set when she broke her opponent at love for a 5-3 advantage. But the Serbian-born Tomljanovic, a two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist, stood her ground, reeling off four unanswered games to steal the set.

Serving at 0-1, 30-40 in the second set, Tomljanovic could only watch as Williams put away a nifty backhand volley for the break, reigniting both herself and the crowd. But the Aussie wasn’t done. She would save four set points in the 15-minute-long eighth game of the set to pull to within 3-5 before leveling the proceedings at 5-all. Amidst chants of “SERENA! SERENA!” the stanza headed into a tiebreak, Williams finally making good on her fifth set point to force a decider.

Tomljanovic broke for 3-1 in the final set, never to trail again, the most memorable victory of her career in hand. She needed six match points to close out the three-hour, four-minute thriller.

Williams’ only other third-round defeat at the US Open came against Irina Spirlea in her 1998 debut.

WHAT IT MEANS: Next up for Tomljanovic is Liudmila Samsonova, who ousted Serb Aleksandra Krunic, 6-3, 6-3. They are an even 1-1 in head-to-heads.