Harmony Tan will certainly remember her first match in the main draw at Wimbledon for a long time. Propelled from the entrance to the Center Court, the French knocked down Queen Serena Williams in the first round, Tuesday June 28, after a fierce fight concluded by a super tie-break: 7-5, 1-6, 7- 6 [10-7] in 3h14.
In the garden of the American, seven times titled in London, the 24-year-old Habs made the match of her life. She did not seem impressed by the context, and especially by her opponent who was obviously not worth her 1,204th place in the world. “When I saw the draw, I was scared, she reacted with a big smile after her victory. It’s Serena Williams! It’s a legend ! How will I be able to play it? Will I be able to win one or two games? And I thought that would have already been great.”
“She’s beaten a legend.”
After three hours, 10 minutes, Harmony Tan beats Serena Williams in a first round epic#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/IQst8AzXxv
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 28, 2022
Harmony Tan did much better than that. She broke Serena Williams from the start of the match and did not collapse when the former world number one won four consecutive games in the heart of the first set. On the contrary, she again took her opponent’s service at the best moment before concluding on her first set point.
Above all, the Parisian by birth was able to pull herself together after a heavily lost second set and a badly handled third with a conceded break (3-1). Even when Serena Williams served for the match winner at 5-4, Tan managed to pull through. Despite a first match point missed at 6-5, the 115th player in the WTA overturned the super tie-break in which she was trailing 4-0. “I’m super moved, I don’t know what to say, she’s a superstar, when I was young I watched her on television and met her for my first Wimbledon: wow!”
For her part, Serena Williams missed her return to singles competition after a year without playing. She found the place of her last battle where she had abandoned last year against the Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round.
It’s always a pleasure, @serenawilliams #Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/ALkCMy1sFD
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 28, 2022
On Tuesday, the American paid for her lack of rhythm and competition. Not mobile enough, she finished the match exhausted after more than three hours of play. The star with 23 Grand Slam titles left the court to an intense and moving ovation from the Center Court. At almost 41 years old (she will have them on September 26), it was perhaps the last time she walked on the London lawn.