If this was it for Williams at Wimbledon, it works

WIMBLEDON, England — If this turns out to have been the last time the world gets to watch Serena Williams at Wimbledon — and she says she doesn’t know, so how could the rest of us? — it would not be how she would want to depart, naturally.

Yet it still would be, in some ways, a suitable farewell.

As competitive as they come, Williams could never be satisfied by leaving with any defeat, let alone a first-round exit in a third-set tiebreaker against someone ranked 115th on Centre Court at the All England Club, where she earned seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles championships.

Which is why when Williams, who turns 41 in August, was asked Tuesday night whether she would be OK with the 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) loss to Harmony Tan being her final memory at Wimbledon, this was the immediate response: “Obviously not. You know me. Definitely not.”

Quickly, this followed: “But today, I gave all I could do, you know, today. Maybe tomorrow, I could have gave more. Maybe a week ago, I could have gave more. But today, (that) was what I could do.”

These circumstances would be far more apt under which to say goodbye — unlike on June 29, 2021, the previous time Williams participated in a singles match at any event. On that day, she left in pain and against her will, forced to stop playing in the first set of her first-round match at Wimbledon after hurting her right leg in a slip on Centre Court.

This time, Williams gave her all for 3 hours, 11 minutes, dealing with rust and fatigue and Tan’s speed-shifting mix of slices, riding all manner of momentum shifts through an entertaining, downand-up-and-down-again spectacle that enthralled a raucous crowd.

“That was insane and intense,” Williams wrote on Instagram afterward. “Not the result I came for, but my goodness I enjoyed that. I hope you did as well. Onward and up.”

right field for the 10-0 lead. Cabot scored five runs in the bottom of the frame, but it would not be enough.

Parker finished 3 for 3 with a run and RBI, Seelinger 2 for 3 with three RBIs, Morrow 2 for 4 with two runs and three RBIs, with Riggs (two runs) and Burton both adding a hit and RBI in the win. White (two runs) and Wilson both added hits.

On the mound, Martin pitched two scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeouts, with Seelinger throwing a scoreless and hitless frame, striking out one and walking one.

The Black Sox spread their runs around in the first game of the doubleheader, scoring in every inning but one in their 9-2 victory. Bryant scored one run in each of the first four innings, with Martin’s RBI single in the first, Wilson’s RBI ground out in the second, Wilson’s RBI single in the third and Morrow’s RBI single in the fourth leading to a 4-0 lead after four frames.

Bryant added two more in the fifth on Parker’s two-out RBI triple and Hatman’s RBI single for the 6-0 lead before the RailCats scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the inning to make it a four-run game.

Scoreless in the sixth, the Sox had more two-out magic in the top of the seventh, with Riggs hitting a two-out RBI double and Martin’s RBI single capping the scoring.

The Black Sox pounded out 14 hits with Martin

2 for 5 with three RBIs, Parker 2 for 4 with two RBIs, and Riggs and

Wilson adding two hits and an RBI each. Burton also went 2 for 4 with a run, with White, Morrow (RBI), Seelinger and Hatman (RBI) all adding a hit in the win.

Morrow started for Bryant and was excellent on the mound giving up just one hit and one walk in three scoreless innings while striking out five. White also struck out five in two scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks, with Hatman giving up two runs, both unearned, on two hits without a walk, striking out two in two innings pitched.

The Black Sox played the Fort Smith Sportsman on Friday.