Tennis superstar Serena
Williams bid a tearful farewell after losing in the second round at the
Canadian Open. Nick Kyrgios beats world number one Daniil Medvedev, plus more tennis news.
Serena Williams bids tearful farewell after second round loss at the Canadian Open
Serena Williams, the 23-time grand slam champion, was defeated 6-2, 6-4 by Belinda Bencic at the Canadian Open in Toronto on Wednesday, CNN reported.
The loss in straight sets to Bencic comes a day after she announced her forthcoming retirement from tennis. The match was likely her last appearance at the Canadian tournament she won twice during her career. No one knows how many more matches Williams will play before she finally puts down her racket and steps away from the court for good.
After the match, at Center Court at Sobeys Stadium, 40-year-old Williams received a standing ovation from the crowd, many holding signs with messages such as "Queen" and "thank you." She accepted the ovation while holding a bouquet of flowers and wiping tears away, People reported.
"A lot of emotions, obviously,'' Williams told spectators.
In an on-court interview after the match, Williams said, "It's been a pretty interesting 24 hours."
"As I said in the article, I'm terrible at goodbyes," Williams continued, putting her hand on her chest. "But goodbye, Toronto."
"I wish I could have played better,'' Williams said, "but Belinda played so well today.''
However, Williams still has a few matches ahead of her. She is scheduled for the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati next week, which serves as a preparation for the year's last Grand Slam tournament, ESPN reported.
Nick Kyrgios beats world number one Daniil Medvedev at Canadian Open
Australian Nick Kyrgios, after losing his cool in the first set and then rebounding, defeated the current world number one Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-2 at the Canadian Open on Wednesday. He will now progress to the round of 16.
Coming into the match, both players were in top form, as Kyrgios was fresh off a win at the singles and doubles titles at the Citi Open in Washington. He also competed in the Wimbledon final in July, Sporting News reported.
Medvedev has had more downtime, missing Wimbledon in July due to a ban on Russian players. However, he made a strong return to the court by taking a title at Los Cabos in Mexico.