Serena Williams (Xinhua)
NEW YORK – The 23-time Grand Slam singles winner Serena Williams bowed out in the US Open here on Friday after a 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 third-round loss to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic while defending men’s champion Daniil Medvedev defeated China's Wu Yibing.
The American tennis legend thanked her parents, older sister Venus, and fans after the match.
"It's been the most incredible ride and journey I've ever been on in my life," she said.
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) honored Williams as one of "the greatest champions in the history of sports."
"The WTA today celebrates the extraordinary Serena Williams, who retires from professional tennis having secured her place among the greatest champions in the history of sports," the organization said in a statement.
Turning 41 later this month, the record Grand Slam title holder in the Open Era has 73 tournament wins, including 23 singles, 14 doubles and two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, as well as four Olympic gold medals.
She topped the world singles rankings for 319 weeks.
In the men's singles on Day 5, World No.1 Medvedev from Russia, not dropping a single set so far, snapped the history-making run of Chinese Wu Yibing, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
"I was serving a little bit better than him, and that was the key today. But it was a really tough match, a lot of tight games," said Medvedev, who seized the victory with 12 aces, winning about 71 percent of his first-serve points.
The 2022 US Open marked the 22-year-old Wu's Grand Slam main-draw debut.
Despite the defeat, he had already started a new page in Chinese tennis history by reaching the US Open men's singles’ last 32.
"This amazing journey gives me more confidence to forge ahead. It is a valuable opportunity to learn from world leading tennis players. I will keep practicing and improving my skills to bring more surprises to fans in the future," said the former US Open boys' champion.
In the fourth round, Medvedev will face Australian Nick Kyrgios, who took a victory over American J.J. Wolf, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
Casper Ruud of Norway, seeded No. 5, outlasted American 29th seed Tommy Paul, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-0, in four and a half hours.
In the women's singles, No. 5 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia defeated American Shelby Rogers, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, while No. 17 seed Caroline Garcia of France overcame 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu, 6-3, 6-2.
China's Zhang Shuai claimed a straight-set victory over Canadian Rebecca Marino 6-2, 6-4, reaching the round of 16 here for the first time in her career. (Xinhua)
