{"id":36496,"date":"2021-02-19T01:59:27","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T02:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=36496"},"modified":"2021-02-19T06:57:30","modified_gmt":"2021-02-19T06:57:30","slug":"icon-rubbishes-serena-retirement-rumours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=36496","title":{"rendered":"Icon rubbishes Serena retirement rumours"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tennis icon Mats Wilander has hosed down concerns that Serena Williams<\/a>' outpouring of emotion following her Australian Open<\/a> exit was due to an impending retirement.<\/p>\n

Williams burst into tears during her press-conference following her 6-3 6-4 semi-final defeat<\/a> at the hands of Naomi Osaka<\/a>, prompting many to believe it might be her last time at Melbourne Park.<\/p>\n

Watch the Australian Open with live streams of every court at 9Now. Click here to start watching!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The tears came immediately after she was asked whether it would be her last time in Australia after she made a prolonged exit from Rod Laver Arena following the match.<\/p>\n

According to Wilander, Williams' tears were simply those of disappointment due to her missed opportunity at another Grand Slam title. <\/p>\n

\"Serena<\/p>\n

"I think we see those tears because I think she was disappointed in the way she played," Wilander told Eurosport.<\/p>\n

"I think she had really high hopes, she had a really good start. If she got to 3-0, it could have been 4-0, then 5-0.<\/p>\n

"She was a bit unlucky and I think she has taken a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

"For her this is a bigger loss, because she is moving better, she is playing better and she is still not really close to Osaka.<\/p>\n

\"Naomi<\/p>\n

"I feel that's where the emotions start \u2013 she's probably thinking, what do I need to do now?"<\/p>\n

Wilander's view was also echoed by men's world No.1 Novak Djokovic, who like Williams, has dominated the Australian Open in the modern era.<\/p>\n

"When you're chasing big things that are related to the history of the sport, obviously it has a lot of weight, a lot of pressure," Djokovic said after his semi-final win over Russia's Aslan Karatsev.<\/p>\n

"And regardless of the amount of years that you have played on the tour and the experience that you have, you still feel it on your shoulders. I can empathize with Serena and what she's going through.<\/p>\n

\"Serena<\/p>\n

"She's such an amazing champion that inspires both male and female athletes around the world in what she has been doing, I mean, still is doing in her age, is extraordinary.<\/p>\n

"Regardless of all the success that she had, you know, I know that when you lose a big match you're frustrated. You're pissed off and you're emotional. Of course, it's completely understandable.<\/p>\n

"When you see a larger picture for her and everything that who she is, what she stands for on and off the court, it's — I mean, she's one of the greatest ever. I mean, there is no doubt, athletes, not just tennis player.<\/p>\n

"I'm proud and honored to be playing at the same time she does and to see her greatness, experience her greatness is a thrill."<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tennis icon Mats Wilander has hosed down concerns that Serena Williams' outpouring of emotion following her Australian Open exit was due to an impending retirement. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36496"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36496"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36498,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36496\/revisions\/36498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}