He spoke just a minute after Williams had walked off the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium for what is likely to be the last time as a professional. Tomljanovic had beaten her in an epic three-hour match. It was one of the biggest wins of her life, but there were no celebrations. “I love Serena just like you do,” Tomljanovic told the crowd, recalling how he idolized her growing up. “It’s a surreal moment for me.” Williams had saved five match points until the sixth ended her campaign. She had been building at the US Open after winning her first two matches against Danka Kovinic and world no. 2 Anett Kontaveit. Against Tomljanovic, he was the favorite — for the first time in a match this tournament. There was a growing sense that he could do the unthinkable and win the whole thing. the farewell tour was turning into the most incredible final dance that only Serena Williams could pull off. 2 Related But remarkable sporting tales are rare. And for every one of those unicorns, there are many more stories of dream narratives being ruined by unwilling protagonists. “I feel like a bad guy,” Tomljanovic said afterward. She is not the first to feel this way, nor will she be the last. Some of the greatest figures in sport have not been able to finish their careers on a high and this leaves a lasting impression on those who stopped their heroes in the final stages. Take Larry Holmes when he stopped Muhammad Ali in October 1980. Ali had retired a year to take the fight with Holmes, but Ali was a shadow of his former self and Holmes won decisively against Ali’s trainer , Angelo Dundee, to stop the fight in the 10th round. Holmes cried in his post-match interview. “When you fight a friend, to me a brother, you can’t have happiness,” said Holmes. “I fought a no-win situation.” Ali would fight one more time and lose. There are other kinds of great sports narratives where an old man manages to turn back the years to escape the younger generation, only to fall back. There were those four memorable days at the 2009 Open where 59-year-old Tom Watson narrowly missed out on the Claret Jug as he blew a 1-shot lead on the final day and then fell in a playoff to Stewart Cink. Tomljanovic, ranked No. 46, will face Liudmila Samsonova on Sunday in the fourth round. Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports Cink was then asked if he felt he had ruined the ending of a Hollywood movie. “No, I don’t feel that way. Whether Tom was 59 or 29, you know, it was one of the playing fields and I had to play against everybody on the field and on the course to come out on top,” Sink said. I think anything can be removed. One can argue with that, but it will be hard to convince me.” He added: “I don’t feel ashamed. I don’t feel disappointed. I’m happy to win this tournament.” And then there are the pre-planned goodbyes, like Serena’s, where nostalgia and loyalty send everyone watching into a frenzy, hoping to witness one last golden moment. Usain Bolt’s farewell to the sport had all the world watching to be a guaranteed gold medal in the 100m at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London. But instead, it was Justin Gatlin who came through for gold, with Bolt in third. As Gatlin took his victory lap, he was booed by the crowd. “Bolt came up to me after the race and said I didn’t deserve all the boos from the crowd and he’s happy I stayed classy,” Gatlin said. “It’s a surreal moment. He’s going to be a much-missed figure, even for me.” Six days later, Bolt’s hamstring gave out in the final stretch of the men’s 4×100. It would be his last act on the track — the image of the fallen hero, his body fading, only adding to the legend. On Friday at Arthur Ashe, Tomljanovic’s triumphs were met with silence and then a crescendo of noise to try and rouse Williams. The victory took Tomljanovic 3 hours and 5 minutes, but it was based on a lifetime of skill and mental strength. Every time she hit her first serve into the net, the fault cheered. Once her frustration boiled over and she spoke to the referee about being interrupted by crowd noise, her irritation was met with boos. To cope with the vast majority of 23,859 spectators cheering her opponent, she channeled Novak Djokovic’s tactics. “When the crowd was against him, he just pretends it’s for him,” she said after her second-round win. “When they sing, I don’t know, Rafa, Roger, whoever’s listening Novak, Novak. I kind of liked that answer.” It worked for her. “I used it [tactic] And I also really blocked it out as much as I could,” Tomljanovic said after defeating Williams. “It got me inside sometimes. I mean, I didn’t take it personally because, I mean, I’d be cheering for Serena too if I wasn’t playing her. But it certainly wasn’t easy. There was no other way.” She built her own “little bubble” and then, after three sets of dazzling tennis, watched Williams’ on-court interview and had a million emotions wash over her. Tomljanovic, as he watched Williams’ post-match interview. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports “[It was] Maybe the most conflicted I’ve ever felt after a win,” he said. “During the race I was so eager to win. But then when it was over, it almost didn’t feel right. When she started talking about her family and everything, yes, I was moved because I can relate to having a strong bond with your family. When he said he wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for them, I really relate to that. The whole moment after that was a bit hard to handle.” The crowd applauded after she spoke — and it felt like the first cheers she’d heard that night, barring the 15 or so people sitting in her box for the game. On Sunday, Tomljanovic faces Liudmila Samsonova in the fourth round. He won’t be returning to Ashe, but to the next biggest show court — Louis Armstrong. To get back to Ashe, he’ll have to keep winning. Her longest Grand Slam comeback to date is two quarter-final exits at Wimbledon. He has overcome a monumental hurdle to try to improve it. But whatever happens here, she will always have the honor of being the player to beat Williams out of the US Open final. And with that, it will be the answer to one of sports’ big questions. “I mean, nobody’s going to pronounce my name right,” he said. “That’s going to suck. But, I mean, I don’t think I was a part of tennis history, so it’s pretty cool… I really wanted to play Serena before she retired. “If I was the loser today, I would probably be very sad. I don’t want to say I’m sad, but I just had a little conflict.”
