Post a frustrating defeat to Bianca Andreescu, Serena Williams admitted that she was not at all satisfied with her performance in the US Open finals on Saturday as she lost 6-3, 7-5 in the finals.
“All of it honestly, truly is super frustrating. I’m, like, so close, so close, so close, yet so far away,” Williams said.
“I don’t know what to say. I guess I’ve got to keep going if I want to be a professional tennis player. And I’ve just got to just keep fighting through it.”
Serena Williams was denied her record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title as the 19-year-old Andreescu became the youngest to clinch a Grand slam competition since Maria Sharapova who had won the title in 2006 at 18.
“I believe I could have played better. I believe I could have done more. I believe I could have just been more Serena today,” said Williams, who is going to turn 38 this month and was the oldest major finalist in the Open era.
The Canadian teen clinched the first set 6-3. Although Serena Williams put up a better show in the second set, Andreescu eventually bagged the set 7-5.
“I feel like, in 20 years, I definitely will be like, ‘Wow, that wasn’t so bad’,” the 37-year-old Williams said, her words halting, her voice scratchy. “It’s very hard right now in the moment to, like, take this and say, ‘It didn’t work out for you today.’ It’s really hard right now to take that moment in and to say, ‘You did OK,’ because I don’t believe I did,” the 23 time Grand Slam winner said.
Notably, Andreescu was found guilty of gifting points to the opposition. She made as many as 33 unforced errors.