The September of 2022 was a mix of emotions as Serena Williams and Roger Federer broke hearts by retiring in the same month. The last match of Serena’s lasted for more than three hours. The crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium erupted in cheers when ReRe won the second set. Ajla Tomljanovic, however, after a long-fought battle, emerged as the winner as the crowd witnessed Serena in action for the last time.

Revisiting the iconic match where people bid a tearful farewell to the legend, Tomljanovic revealed how she felt about that match and her win.

The match that stays with Tomljanovic forever

In a recent Spotify podcast, ‘Hurdle’ with Emily Abbate, the 59th seed revealed her overwhelming emotions despite winning the match. Abbate asked the Australian champion, “Bring us to your headspace, even walking into the match.”

The 30-year-old revealed that preparing for such a match was impossible and that an occasion like that had never happened to her. Tomljanovic said, “Oh my God! What’s about to happen? Because I knew that there was no way to prepare for it. I did as best as I could. But I knew that it was going to be more than what I prepared for. Because it’s just an occasion that probably for me at least never happened again.”

The US Open quarter-finalist declared that there isn’t anyone going to be as great as Serena for a long time. She also recalled how she did not like what happened after the match and the way she had to walk out. Though Serena lost the match, the court and the crowd were hers.

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Aijla Tomljanovic revealed that she did not feel great about winning the match

The Aussie revealed, “I mean, in a long time, nobody’s going to be as great as Serena is going to be, retiring in her home Slam. That’s just like, yeah, it was almost out of a book. You know, when I really think about also the things that happened, the way I had to walk out, and then the video was played of her winning all the titles. It’s like, when does that happen? Never. Like, I wasn’t loving that.”

Tomljanovic did not feel the enthusiasm of moving to the fourth round. Obviously, it was Serena’s day. Win or lose, that day was meant to be ReRe’s, and though the Aussie star did not love it at that point, she does now. The third round of the US Open 2022 was one of her memorable matches when she looks back.

The two-time Wimbledon Championships quarter-finalist opened up on her low confidence. She admitted that she still doesn’t know where all the calmness came from on the court. Her mother couldn’t believe her stoic nature, and asked her if she was on something.

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Call it ‘The Serena Effect.’ Tomljanovic said that whenever people talk about her matches, they don’t talk about this particular match which was a life-turning event. Not her fault though. It was one of those matches, where the player who loses gets more attention than the winner.