US Open: Ajla Tomljanovic stays cool - and may soon make it in "Trivial Pursuit"
Ajla Tomljanovic delivered a great tennis match, defeating Serena Williams in New York.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit:
Sep 03, 2022, 11:36 am
Ajla Tomljanovic has probably ended Serena Williams' career - she shouldn't think about it again . And of course it was all about the big Serena show on New York night.
You also have to pay a big compliment to Tomljanovic: Because keeping calm like the 29-year-old did against Williams and her almost 25,000 fans deserves respect. And is a sign of how much Tomljanovic has improved in recent years.
For a long time she was considered to be someone who, when in doubt, tended to look for the quick spot and often overpowered. Against Williams, she convinced with great length, which often made it difficult for the American to take the initiative herself. And in the end: Tomljanovic stayed calm even after five match balls were fended off. One can only imagine what a madhouse Arthur Ashe Stadium would have become if Serena had caught up...
"I expected her to beat me," explained Tomljanovic on court. "The pressure wasn't on me. She's Serena. I thought to the last point: she's in a really good position, even if she's 5th :1 behind."
Tomljanovic in the form of her life
Tomljanovic is currently playing the tennis of her life. Last year she reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at Wimbledon and at the beginning of this year she celebrated her highest place in the WTA ranking with place 38. She equalized the Wimbledon run this year, but she lost the points of the 2021 Wimbledon tournament (this year there were no points due to the exclusion of the Russian and Belarusian players).
But Tomljanovic didn't let that get her down, so she's currently in the round of 16 in New York, where she meets Liudmila Samsonova. If she wins, she would probably reach a new career high.
"Who ended Serena Williams' career?"
Of course, her name will remain associated primarily with the Williams match, much like Benjamin Becker's with Andre Agassi's farewell . And it is possible that "Ajla Tomljanovic" will now be a desperately sought-after answer in the quiz shows and parlor games à la Trivia Pursuit .
What Tomljanovic himself may not mean too well. When asked about the possible trivia question, she explained with amusement: "Probably nobody will pronounce my name correctly, so it's going to be rather stupid."
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