‘Might Have Been Over Optimistic on That One’ – Martina Navratilova Reacts to the Claims of Serena Williams Winning the Wimbledon Championships 2022

The 2022 Wimbledon Championships saw the return of former world number one Serena Williams after over a year. During the past year, the American legend had been away from the sport owing to a hamstring injury. It was a much-awaited comeback by Serena, who had her fans longing to see her in action.

However, Serena Williams’ comeback was short-lived. Serena lost in the opening round of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament against Harmony Tan of France. Nonetheless, she put on a great fight in her first singles match after a year. Tennis legend, Martina Navratilova, felt that Serena had a chance to win the Wimbledon Championships if she had got through her opening round match. Later, she clarified her statement.

Martina Navratilova on Serena Williams winning the Wimbledon Championships 2022

The 65-year-old took to Twitter to clarify her statement regarding Serena lifting the Wimbledon 2022 title. She said, “I think I might have been over optimistic on that one…”

In a match lasting three hours and 11 minutes on the Centre Court of Wimbledon, Tan got the better of the 23-time Grand Slam champion. The Frenchwoman began the match brightly and took the opening set 7-5. However, Serena came back strongly to level the match by winning the second set 6-1.

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Further, the deciding set was a keenly contested affair. Tan won crucial points in the super-tiebreaker to take the set 7-6 (10-7) and advance into the second round.

Navratilova on the rivalry in women’s tennis

Recently, the tennis legend talked about the diminishing rivalries in women’s tennis. She said, “The women fluctuate a lot more with their ability and that means you don’t get the rivalry because they don’t play one another enough at the top of the game, and you need that.” 

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Despite her heartbreaking loss, Serena Williams revealed her motivation to participate in the tournaments later this season. She intends to play at the US Open, her ‘home’ Grand Slam tournament.