New York (AFP) – Serena and Venus Williams electrified Arthur Ashe Stadium but fell to Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint in three thrilling sets in their return to the US Open women’s doubles on Friday. The superstar sisters, whose 14 Grand Slam doubles titles include two US Opens, rallied from a break down in the third set and led the deciding 10-point tiebreaker 5-0 but fell 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7).
Venus, 46, and Serena, 44, hadn’t played Grand Slam doubles since the 2022 US Open and last won a title together at Roland Garros in 2018. They showed flashes of their brilliant best, with Serena proving particularly dangerous patrolling the net but struggling with her serve. After recovering from losing the first set to level the match in the second-set tiebreaker, they belted no fewer than 20 winners in the set, holding serve throughout and leveling the match when Joint smacked an overhead long to roars from the crowd.
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Chan and Joint regrouped to seize a 4-2 lead in the third. The sisters rallied, but they could not get to the finish line as Taiwan’s Chan and Joint fought back superbly to clinch the victory. For Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion considered by many to be tennis’s greatest women’s player, it was her first return to the courts of Flushing Meadows since then.
The 44-year-old had returned to major singles play as a Wimbledon wild card four years after “evolving away” from the game. At the All-England club, she lost to Joint in a Centre Court clash that captured the imagination of both diehard and casual tennis fans. Even that experience didn’t prepare Joint for the atmosphere in the cavernous Ashe Stadium.
The sisters received a thunderous ovation when they took the court, all business in understated white outfits. Every blistering volley and overhead smash from the Americans received raucous cheers, and when they sprinted to the lead in the decisive 10-point tiebreaker, the noise was deafening. “The atmosphere was surreal,” Joint said. “Being able to play against such legends of the game is super special.”
© 2024 AFP
