“When I saw the ball … when I saw her put it into the net,” Tan said, recalling the final set in her 10-7 tiebreaker over Williams, “I couldn’t believe it. . . “
A split second later, Tana’s gaze caught everyone in her box, including mum Liskin and trainer Natalia Toziat, jumping, celebrating and beaming more than a handful of Queen’s Beefeaters who walked through the pub’s doors in London eight years later. – Changing hours outside Buckingham Palace.
That’s when I learned.
She remembers here on Monday morning “Uh-huh…”, “…I won!”
Tan is here this week in preparation for his stop next month at the US Open, part of the third annual Thoreau Tennis Open held on the sprawling manicured grounds of the Thoreau Club. Under the guidance of tournament president Massimo Policastro, Toro’s director of tennis since 2017, Tan and dozens of other women from around the world will be looking to improve their standing at the WTA 125, one of three tournaments held in the United States this year. . .
Main draw play begins on Tuesday in both singles and doubles, and play will continue daily, culminating in the quarterfinals on Friday, the semifinals on Saturday and then the tournament on Sunday (doubles at noon; singles at 3 p.m.). Club suites can accommodate up to 600 spectators.
Currently ranked 112th in the WTA rankings, Tana is back in action for the first time since Wimbledon. In the end, Tan lost in the fourth round and had to immediately enter a tournament in Liepāja, on the west coast of Latvia, but on the sidelines due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Sick for 10 days and very tired,” she recalls after training on Monday morning. “Just sleep and relax.”
At the end of July, Tan finally returned to training in Paris, then visited Biarritz, a charming seaside town in the southwestern tip of France, with his coach Toziat.
“Not for tennis, but for surfing,” Tan said, her face beaming at her other sporting passion. “Biarritz has some great waves.”
Surfing, along with tennis, judo and piano, was one of the many endeavors of Harmonia and her brother Maksim in lessons. Their parents, Leskin (from Vietnam) and Chai Si (from Cambodia), met in France after emigrating from war-torn countries and wanted their children to be active.
Harmony said that Maxim stopped playing tennis at the age of 16 and now has a career in the financial world. He was among those shouting and screaming at her chest as she crushed Williams 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7).
After a shock exit from Williams, who had just returned after a one-year absence, Tan had second- and third-round wins over Sarah Sorriba Tormo and Katie Poulter, the last Briton here at Toro Stadium. She eventually lost to Amanda Anisimova in the fourth round.
All in all, Wimbledon was Tan’s first time playing on natural grass, his first time standing on center court and his first time entering the second week of a Grand Slam tournament.
“My first serve, I need to hit a higher percentage,” Tana said, summing up what she thinks needs to be improved in her overall game. “And I have to be more aggressive in my game.”
Regardless of her career path, the young lady from Paris will always be there. . . London, 2022. For that brief moment, his record in the famous tournaments was 1-0, while Williams was 98-13.
“A day or two ago during practice, someone said to me, ‘Oh, you’re playing Serena,'” Tan said, recalling her initial shock when she found out about the match. And I said, “What?! Is she playing against me?! “
Tan recalled thinking before the match that if she had been able to get a game or two out of Williams, that would be cool.
“I mean, it’s a legend, isn’t it?” She said. “She has 23 Grand Slam titles… really cool. You play Serena, it’s like playing Roger Federer. So, I was like, ‘Ohhhhhhhhh.'”
The 40-year-old Williams immediately took a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak.
“Oh, it would be hard to win this match now,” Tan recalled thinking at the time.
What a tired Tana said to herself, and the thought that kept her fighting, was that Williams was exhausted too. Legend or not on the other side of the net, there was no choice but to keep hitting and he quickly broke back to 4-4.
“So 4-0 to 4-all,” she said, laughing at the memory. “And I said to myself, Well, this is my destiny. I can win this match!” And I won.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be contacted by email [email protected]
