For all its hidebound traditions, Wimbledon decided to do something different this year. The tournament turned back the clock on Tuesday at the All England Club. There on Centre Court (in, symbolically, diminishing evening light), was the familiar sight of Serena Williams, ankles taped, clad in Nike, brandishing a Wilson racket, crowding the baseline, serving in excess of 120 mph, fixing her eyes on targets and rocking her arms as she prepared to return serve.
The nostalgia and throwback only went so far. Serena played more than respectably—surely one of the world’s all-time best players north of 40 years old. She served well, moved respectively, and, at times, did a convincing Serena impersonation. But in the end, the mighty Serena Williams lost to Maya Joint, a game 20-year-old from Australia, 6–3, 6–7, 6–3. And with that, considerable amounts of air left this tournament.
