The first stop on Serena Williams’ farewell tour came to a quick end as she fell 6-2, 6-4 against Belinda Bencic in second-round action at the Canadian Open on Wednesday, one day after announcing her forthcoming retirement from tennis.
Williams arrived on the court to a standing ovation and had the full support of the capacity crowd throughout the 77-minute match, but was unable to conjure the old magic that helped her win three titles in Canada.
“It’s been a pretty interesting 24 hours ... I’m terrible at goodbyes, but, goodbye Toronto,” an emotional Williams told the crowd.