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With the curtain having come down on the Serena Williams show, the U.S. Open woke up to an empty feeling on Saturday as the tennis world began to adjust to life without the sport’s biggest star.
For the first time since the U.S. Open began on Monday, the Williams name did not appear on the Flushing Meadows match schedule.
The buzz that had been off the charts just 12-hours earlier, when Williams lost a three-set battle to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in what was likely the final singles match of her glittering career, was dialled down to a hum on Saturday as lost-looking fans ambled around the sprawling tennis complex drifting from court to court.
Williams had signalled her intention to retire in a Vogue article in early August, saying she was “evolving away from tennis” and although she never confirmed the U.S. Open as her final event the news sparked a frenzy with fans not willing to miss a chance to see the 23-times Grand Slam singles champion in action one last time.
For almost a week matches featuring Williams, older sister Venus, or both in doubles, provided the focal point of the day around which everything revolved.
