When the end came, Serena Williams refused to go quietly. For almost three hours she had raged against the dying of the light; now, with Ajla Tomljanovic a point from victory at 5-1 in the deciding set, Williams rekindled the flame with one last blaze of defiant brilliance.
Like a prize fighter moving in for the knockout blow, she forced Tomljanovic into a corner, then swooped forward to bludgeon away a drive volley. A second match point left the lunging Australian skewered deep behind the baseline as she sought in vain to retrieve a forceful approach shot. Resolute and focused, as she had been all evening, Tomljanovic replied with a forehand of peerless excellence; still Williams refused to buckle, drilling an untouchable return.
Five times in all Williams hauled herself back from the precipice, her fearless shot-making and clenched-fist belligerence offering a final glorious vignette of all that she has stood for. As the winner of 23 majors and a global icon for millions, she has long since secured her legacy. Yet, if a career spanning more than a quarter of a century can be encapsulated in one game, this was the one – a statement so powerful that it almost rendered redundant a post-match inquiry about how she hoped to be remembered.
“There’s so many things to be remembered by,” reflected Williams after her 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 defeat. “Like the fight. I’m such a fighter. I don’t know. I feel like I really brought something, and bring something, to tennis. The different looks, the fist pumps, the just crazy intensity.
“Obviously the passion, I think, is a really good word. Yeah, just continuing through ups and downs. I could go on and on. But I just honestly am so grateful that I had this moment, and that I’m Serena.”
Those sentiments were shared by her adoring New York public, who rose as one to acclaim their six-time champion as she clipped one last forehand into the net to signal the end. She had given them everything, turning back the clock with a signature display of power, athleticism and bellowing passion, and they had replied in kind, willing her on with a deafening wall of noise.
The preternatural composure of Tomljanovic ensured it was not enough. The laser-like focus the 46th-ranked Australian showed to hold her nerve amid the cacophony, shrugging off the graceless glee with which the crowd greeted her every misstep, proved every bit as decisive as her ability to match the power and obduracy of Williams.
“I just really blocked it out as much as I could,” said Tomljanovic. “It did get to me a few times internally. I mean, I didn’t take it personally because I would be cheering for Serena, too, if I wasn’t playing her. But it was definitely not easy.”
The 29-year-old nonetheless matched Williams step for step, overcoming a 3-5 deficit to take the first set, battling back from 4-0 down in the second to force a tiebreak, and responding to a potentially fatal break of serve at the start of the decider by winning six games in a row.
It was an absorbing, high-quality contest, a far cry from the tepid performance Williams produced against Emma Raducanu in Cincinnati, and the level she showed – combined with the self-confessed vagueness of her intentions – will inevitably turn thoughts to the possibility that she might reconsider her decision to “evolve away” from the sport.
Williams’s movement may not be what it once was – understandably, given that she will be 41 next month – but it has improved with each successive match in New York. She has played only six singles matches since returning from a year-long injury absence at Wimbledon this summer, yet her progress over the course of that brief body of work has been such that it seems natural to wonder what a more sustained push might yield.
“I don’t know, I’m not thinking about that,” said Williams, before adding with a mischievous smile: “I always did love Australia, though.”
Yet she wrote touchingly of her desire to have a second child in the Vogue article announcing her retirement, and it is farfetched to imagine she will pitch up in Melbourne for January’s Australian Open. Williams conceded as much as she reflected on how far she has come – and where she has yet to go.
“It takes a lot of work to get here,” she said. “Clearly I’m still capable. It takes a lot more than that. I’m ready to be a mom, explore a different version of Serena. Technically in the world I’m still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I’m still walking.”
The clearest indication of her feelings came in the emotionally raw aftermath of defeat, as she tearfully addressed her family at courtside.
“Thank you, daddy, I know you’re watching,” she said. “Thanks, mom. I just thank everyone that’s here, that’s been on my side for so many years, literally decades. But it all started with my parents, and they deserve everything, so I’m really grateful to them.
“And I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus, so thank you, Venus. She’s the only reason Serena Williams ever existed.
“It’s been a fun ride. It’s been the most incredible ride and journey I’ve ever been on in my life. I’m just so grateful to every single person that’s ever said: ‘Go, Serena’ in their life. I’m just so grateful, because you got me here.”