Wimbledon Open: Tan beat Serena in first round

Serena Williams’ hopes of a victorious return to Wimbledon after a year out ended with a loss to Harmony Tan, BBC reported.

The American great, 40, returned to the same Centre Court where she had limped out injured last year with a passionate display in a 7-5 1-6 7-6 (10-7) defeat.

Willed on by a fervent crowd, Williams answered questions over her fitness with a dynamic display that put her two points from a win before Tan edged it.

It is almost a year to the day since Williams limped tearfully off Centre Court after slipping and hurting her right ankle in her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

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The crowd that day might have wondered if they would ever see the American great back at the grass-court Grand Slam, with age and injury against her.

Even she herself admitted while at Eastbourne this month – where she made her comeback in the doubles alongside Ons Jabeur – that she had harboured her own doubts.

But Williams walked on to the same court, where she has won seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, to a rousing reception.

Now ranked 1,204th in the world, she had needed to request a wildcard to enter the draw.

And she soon showed why she was never going to be turned down.

Speaking after the match Tan Harmony said “I’m so emotional now. [Serena] is a superstar and when I was young I was watching her so many times on the TV,

“For my first Wimbledon, it’s wow. Just wow.”

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“When I saw the draw I was really scared. Because it’s Serena Williams, she a legend and I was like ‘oh my god how can I play, and if I could win one or two games it was really good for me!’.

“I would like to thank everybody today and my team and my coach Natalie Tauziat, who also played Serena. Thank you so much for being with me.”