Staff Reporter.
Unseeded Harmony Tan overcame her fears of a Wimbledon nightmare on Tuesday to knock out seven-time champion Serena Williams in their first round encounter to turn Centre Court into her own personal dreamland.
The 24-year-old French debutant prevailed against the 23-time Grand Slam champion over three sets to secure her first career win on grass and advance to the second round at the expense of the former world No 1.
“It’s a dream because, you know, I saw Serena on the TV when I was young,” she said.
“My coach, Nathalie Tauziat, played her 20 years ago. So, yeah, it’s a big generation.
“She’s a legend. I mean, she won 23 grand slams. When you play her, I was scared. I mean, I was scared when I was on the court, but really happy to be there.”
Tauziat, who also coaches 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, has her own history at Wimbledon, finishing as a runner-up to Jana Novotna in 1998 when Tan was less than a year old.
“She just told me enjoy because it’s your first time in Wimbledon,” Tan said of the pre-match advice given to her by Tauziat.
“You play on Centre Court against Serena. And, yeah, just enjoy the match.”
Tan, ranked 115th in the world, did much more than that, winning the first set 7-5 against Williams before the American stormed back to take the second, dropping a solitary game in the process.
As Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew loomed, the pair battled towards a third set tie break which Tan eventually won as a weary Williams gave up an early lead to crash out after more than three hours of play.
The Frenchwoman, who has never progressed beyond the second round of a Grand Slam, was at a loss to describe how she managed to turn the match in her favour.
“I don’t know because I play every ball like just, put some slice, some change, some variety on the game,” she said. “And it works today.”
JABEUR BEATS KAWA
Third seed Ons Jabeur eased through to the third round, beating Polish qualifier Katarzyna Kawa 6-4, 6-0.
The Tunisian, 27, who won the Berlin grass-court title earlier this month, broke twice in the first set before steamrollering her opponent in the second.
Jabeur will play unseeded Frenchwoman Diane Parry, who beat Japanese qualifier Mai Hontama, in the last 32.
RADUCANU PLAYS DOWN PRESSURE AFTER EXIT
US Open champion Emma Raducanu played down the pressure on her young shoulders after crashing out of Wimbledon in the second round.
The British 10th seed went down 6-3, 6-3 against Caroline Garcia, disappointing a partisan home crowd on Centre Court.
But the 19-year-old was sanguine after her defeat, saying she “didn’t really have many expectations of myself”.
Raducanu was asked whether experiencing the pressure at Wimbledon again would help her as she prepares for the defence of her US Open title.
But she laughed it off, saying she was looking forward to returning to Flushing Meadows.
“There’s no pressure,” she said. “Like, why is there any pressure? I’m still 19.
“Like, it’s a joke. I literally won a Slam. Going back to New York, it’s going to be cool because I have got a lot of experiences playing on big courts, playing with people in the stadium, playing with the spotlight on you.
“I don’t mind that. I mean, for me, everything is learning. I’m embracing every single moment that is thrown at me.”
Raducanu, who was troubled by a side strain in the run-up to Wimbledon, was broken five times in the match by her French opponent, ranked 55 in the world.
The British player was on the back foot early in the contest after being broken in her first service game and won just 45 per cent of points on her first serve.
She said he had been hampered by a lack of time on court since the French Open due to various niggles but that she had been fit for Wimbledon.
“I declared myself fully fit when I walked out onto the court on the first day,” she said.
“But I’ve played seven hours of tennis in a month. To even compete with these girls at this level and win a round I think is a pretty good achievement.”
Garcia, fresh from winning on grass at Bad Homberg, hit 25 winners in an impressive display.
“Emma is a huge player and in her home tournament and she proved she can do very well on the big stage,” she said.
“I really enjoyed playing on Centre Court, it was my first time and very special.”
KONTAVEIT TUMBLED OUT
Second seed Anett Kontaveit tumbled out in the second round, thumped 6-4 6-0 by big-serving Jule Niemeier, who is making a mark on her first appearance at the Championships.
The 26-year-old Kontaveit could not counter the German’s huge groundstrokes and looked progressively more downhearted as she failed to find her range on a sunny No 1 court.
Estonian Kontaveit has talked about suffering fatigue this year following a Covid-19 infection and has not played a match since the French Open last month where she was beaten in the first round.
She looked out of sorts against Niemeier, spraying groundstrokes long and wide and making 24 unforced errors in a match lasting 58 minutes.
Niemeier, 22, ranked 97 in the world after injury problems disrupted her early progress on the tour, jumped and punched the air when Kontaveit put yet another shot into the net on match point.
“It’s amazing,” she told an appreciative lunchtime crowd. “It’s one of the greatest wins of my career so far.”
Niemeier said she was nervous before the match on a show court. “But I love to play on grass … it suits my game.”
She will play either Anhelina Kalinina or Lesia Tsurenko, both from Ukraine, in the third round.