The tournament director of the Madrid Mutua Open, Ion Tiriac, is not a fan of Serena Williams. Tiriac proved this again a few days ago in an interview with the Romanian website. He mentioned Serena’s age and weight and called her to retire ASAP!
Serena finished last season just outside the top 10, missing the elite group at year-end for the third time in four years. Williams did enough to make it into the top 10 in 2019 despite an easy schedule and missed the honor in the season behind us despite doing her best in every tournament.
Serena failed to win a major title for three seasons in a row for the first time in her career and was waiting for that elusive 24th major crown since the Australian Open 2017! When Williams gave birth later that year, she continued to focus on four notable tournaments over the past three seasons, hitting two consecutive finals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018 and 2019 for a strong comeback.
However, it shouldn’t be for the American who suffered four painful losses and hoped to take that extra step in 2020. Serena suffered an early defeat in Melbourne last January, preparing for Roland Garros and Wimbledon when the coronavirus halted action between March and August.
Wimbledon had to close its gates for the first time since 1945, and Serena focused on the home major seeking the seventh New York title and the first since 2014. Without the partisan crowd she was backing, the veteran made it through to the semifinals for the eleventh consecutive year, started strong against Victoria Azarenka and lost ground to drive the Belarusian into the fight for the title.
Ion Tiriac spoke again about Serena Williams in a negative context
The American won the game in the first round before pulling back with an Achilles injury ahead of Tsvetana Pironkova’s clash with another chance in finding the 24th.
Missed Major Title. The next opportunity should come in Melbourne in February and Serena will be back at the practice site before the Aussie trip. It’s safe to say that we won’t see Serena at the Madrid Open in 2021, and she also stated that she and Tiriac would have a word in the future no matter when.
“At this age and the weight she is now, she doesn’t move as easily as she did 15 years ago. Serena was a sensational player. If she had a little decency, she’d retire! From all angles,” said Ion Tiriac.
