Tomljanovic to have a shot at history
Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic has the opportunity to bring an end to one of the greatest careers in women’s tennis.
The top-ranked Australian set up a third-round clash against the world no. 605. This is not your normal 605th ranked player in the world, it is Serena.
Tomljanovic fought off an unranked player in her second-round match when she defeated 33-year-old mother of two Evgeniya Rodina. The Australian survived having Rodina serving for the match at 5-3 in the third set.
Rodina who had not played since the 2019 Eastbourne tournament wasn’t able to hold her nerve as Tomlanjanovic hit back to get back on serve.
It looked like the Australian had blown her chances after racing to 15-40 only to make some errors to have her opponent back at deuce.
Tomljanovic corrected the situation with a forehand winner to again hold a breakpoint.
This time the battle-hardened Australian converted to stay alive in the match.
From there it was Tomlanjanovic that showed the composure of someone that has been in some tight battles recently and come through.
From 3-5 to 7-5, it was Tomljanovic that set up a potential clash with Serena. This came despite dropping the first set 6-1.
For fans that had been following Tomljanovic, they would have known she does fight back well after dropping the first set.
Not long after the conclusion of this match, Serena Williams defeated Anett Kontaveit to keep her farewell fairytale alive.
Serena will have nearly all of the crowd behind her when the pair walk out onto Arthur Ashe stadium in two days time, can Tomljanovic bring a close to Serena’s singles career?