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Wimbledon: Serena suffers shock first-round defeat

Serena Williams was unable to summon the old magic as her Wimbledon return ended in a first-round defeat to little-known Frenchwoman Harmony Tan on Centre Court.

Stepping out on court to play singles for the first time since leaving the big stage prematurely and in tears after suffering a hamstring injury in the opening round 12 months ago, Williams was rusty and error-prone.

The will remained and, cheered on by a supportive crowd, she looked like she might stumble over the finish line after coming from a set down and then saving a match point in the 12th game of the decider.

But instead Williams suffered just her third first-round loss at a grand slam, going down 7-5 1-6 7-6 (10-7) in a deciding tie-break at 10.35pm after three hours and 10 minutes.

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At 40, the American’s time in the game is clearly running out, but she remained vague about her future plans and refused to rule out another tilt at Wimbledon next year.

“Like I said coming into this, I’m just planning for right now, seeing how I feel, just to go from there,” she said.

Pressed on whether it was her farewell to the All England Club, Williams added: “That’s a question I can’t answer. I don’t know. Who knows? Who knows where I’ll pop up.” – Sky Sports

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