The 23-time singles Major champion Serena Williams is spending her summer vacation with her family in Greece. Alexis Ohanian, Serena and their daughter Olympia spent time in Athens, visiting the famous ancient sights and learning about the history of Greece and the Olympic Games. The famous family visited Acropolis and the Panathenaic Stadium, which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. While tennis was not among the sports at the first Olympic Games, Serena joked she played there in the 1880s. Serena stayed away from the court for a year following an injury at the last year’s Wimbledon. The veteran made a surprising comeback in Eastbourne this June, competing in the doubles draw alongside Ons Jabeur and entering his 21st Wimbledon. The seven-time champion experienced a tough 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 loss to world no. 115 Harmony Tan in three hours and 11 minutes. Williams served for the victory in the third set’s closing stages and opened a 4-0 lead in the match tie break.
Serena Williams is spending time in Greece with her family.
She ran out of steam and wasted those opportunities to hit the exit door against the Wimbledon debutant. Both players had more winners than unforced errors, and Serena had the ball on her racquet in most of the points. She found her A-game in the second set and had the opportunity to emerge at the top in the decider and move closer to her 100th Wimbledon triumph. Instead, she dropped the match tie break 10-7 to propel the rival through. Williams hit only five aces and could not make the difference with her first serve. She won five points more thanks to the second set, but it was not enough to propel her through, despite massive support from the crowd. The American experienced an early break in the opener before rattling off four straight games for 4-2. Tan took charge after that, pulled the break back and grabbed another at 5-5. The French player saved a break point in game 12 to claim the first set and earn a boost.
Serena was the only player on the court in set number two, dominating on serve and return to leave the rival behind. She broke Tan after a marathon second game that saw over ten deuces and a roller coaster. Williams raced into a 5-0 lead and wrapped up the set 6-1 on her serve to force a decider. Serena moved 3-1 up in the third set before Harmony locked the result at 3-3 for more drama. Williams secured another break at 4-4 and served for the victory. Barely having anything left in the tank, Serena played loose shots and pushed the rival back to 5-5. The American saved a match point on serve in game 12 to introduce the match tie break and opened a 4-0 lead. Tan claimed five straight points to erase the deficit and seized the first match point at 9-7 for the proudest moment of her career.