Who Is Harmony Tan, the Player Who Beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon?

The matchup appeared lopsided on paper.

Serena Williams, probably the best tennis participant ever and the winner of probably the most Grand Slam singles titles within the Open Period, matched up with Concord Tan, No. 115 on the earth, within the first spherical of Wimbledon.

Tan, taking part in in her first Wimbledon, had not superior additional than the second spherical in any of her six earlier appearances at a significant. Even Tan admitted in her on-court interview that she was “actually scared” upon seeing that she was scheduled to face Williams and had hoped she may win one or two video games Tuesday.

Williams was requested in a information convention forward of the match if she was dissatisfied that she didn’t draw a tougher opponent.

“Each match is tough; each match,” stated Williams, who was competing in her first singles match on tour since tearing a hamstring in final yr’s opening spherical of Wimbledon and retiring from the match. “You possibly can’t underestimate anybody or any match.”

Tan, 24, proved Williams’s phrases true, spoiling her return to tennis and quest for a record-tying twenty fourth Grand Slam singles title. Tan defeated Williams, 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7). For Williams, 40, the loss was the second of her profession within the first spherical of Wimbledon.

Tan, a Paris native with Cambodian and Vietnamese dad and mom, stated she watched Williams typically whereas rising up. Tan turned skilled when she was simply 14, however this was her first matchup towards Williams, and she or he had by no means confronted a participant with profession accomplishments even approaching these of Williams.

The best-ranked participant she has confronted is Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, who was No. 17 on the earth on the time of their matchup at this yr’s Australian Open. Tan retired within the third set of the match after struggling an damage.

For this matchup with Williams, Tan had a slight benefit within the type of her coach, Nathalie Tauziat.

Tauziat, the 1998 Wimbledon girls’s singles runner-up, who was ranked as excessive as No. 3 on the earth, confronted Williams 3 times, beating her as soon as on the Paris Open last in 2000. Tan didn’t point out in her post-match interview whether or not or not Tauziat gave her particular pointers primarily based on her expertise towards Williams. Nonetheless, she thanked Tauziat for supporting her after the win.

“I’m actually shocked at the moment,” Tan stated of her win within the on-court interview.

She could have the chance to advance previous the second spherical in a Grand Slam match for the primary time in her profession when she faces Sara Sorribes Tormo, a Spaniard seeded thirty second. The 2 confronted one another earlier this yr in Monterrey, Mexico, with Tan dropping, 6-2, 6-2.