Serena Williams turns back the clock under the eye of the Tiger

01 September 2022 - 16:03 By Reuters
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Serena Williams of the US prepares to serve against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in their second round match at Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre.
Serena Williams of the US prepares to serve against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in their second round match at Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre.
Image: Al Bello/Getty Images

Serena Williams credited Tiger Woods on Wednesday as one of the main reasons she was still playing tennis and had the golf great on his feet during her stunning win over world No 2 Anett Kontaveit to reach the third round of the US Open.

Woods, like Williams considered to be the GOAT (greatest of all time) in his sport, cheered her on from the stands at Flushing Meadows in what is expected to be her final tournament.

Perhaps more than any other athlete, the winner of 15 golf majors can relate to what Williams, is going through as she wrestles with the idea of impending retirement while trying for one more shot at Grand Slam glory.

Woods has turned comebacks into an art form in a career spent defying the odds. In April, he made perhaps his biggest comeback when he returned to competition at the Masters just 14 months after a car crash that had doctors considering the possibility of amputating his right leg.

“He's one of the reasons I'm here, one of the main reasons I'm still playing,” Williams said after her 7-6(4) 2-6 6-2 win over Kontaveit. “So we talked a lot. He was really trying to get me motivated.

“There's a few people, but we were like, Okay, we can do this together, you know?”

The two sporting greats are both chasing history, Woods hunting Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors and Williams, one Grand Slam shy of equalling Margaret Court's mark of 24. Both records seem out of reach though Williams, with her win over Kontaveit, moves into the third round with a chance of writing a fairy-tale ending to her career.

Woods has already shown anything is possible when he ended an 11-year major title drought at the 2019 Masters to claim a fifth Green Jacket.

“I didn't know what I wanted to do,” said Williams, who signalled her intention to retire earlier this month.

“I was just lost, so many questions. When you can rely on someone like that, I mean, my goodness, he's Tiger Woods. It was really helpful to get clarity.”

Having been world No 1 for 319 weeks, Williams arrived in New York ranked below 600, unseeded and with just a single match win from three events coming into the season's final Grand Slam. But she delivered a Tiger-esque effort, tapping into her famous fighting spirit to register an impressive win.

“It was a privilege to watch greatness,” tweeted Woods. “Congrats @serenawilliams.”


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