Serena Williams sets sights on motherhood after remarkble Australian Open exit

Serena Williams suffered the most remarkable collapse of her career here today at the Australian Open.

The 37-year-old American was leading Karolina Pliskova 5-1 in the final set of their quarter-final but then wasted four match points and lost six games in a row, as the Czech won 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

Tomorrow, Pliskova will take on Naomi Osaka, the US Open champion, who beat Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-1.

Williams hit what appeared to be a match-winning ace on her first serve at 5-1 and 40-30, only to be foot-faulted. After her second serve she appeared to turn an ankle and went on miss three points in a row and lose the game.

The ankle appeared to affect Williams’s movement for the rest of the match but she did not call for the trainer. She lost all 13 points on her serve after the injury, though she had three more match points when Pliskova served at 4-5.

Williams refused to blame her defeat on her ankle. “I really hate calling the trainer out, to be honest, and at that point I didn’t feel like I needed it or I didn’t feel like it would be a big deal, so I just kept going,” said the former world No1, who needs one Grand Slam singles title to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.

“She just played well on my serve after that point. I don’t think it had anything to do with my ankle. Obviously I made some mistakes but she played really well after that.”

Pliskova, who is now vying with Osaka and Petra Kvitova to replace Simona Halep as world No 1 at the end of the tournament, saved all three by going for broke on her shots. She served out for victory at 6-5, though only after Williams had saved two match points.

Williams insisted she had not “choked” on her match points. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “I stayed aggressive. She just literally hit the lines on some of them. I did everything I could on those match points. She literally played her best tennis ever.”

Pliskova said it had been the best comeback of her career. “I really went for my shots,” she said.

“I didn’t feel like she played really badly in that game [at 5-1]. Maybe the double fault was a big help. Otherwise, I don’t think she did anything actually that bad. I thought she was missing a bit more but I was more aggressive.”

Although Williams has lost Grand Slam matches when a break up in deciding sets before, she has never lost from such a commanding position. She led Martina Hingis 4-1 in the final set in the quarter-finals here in 2001 but went on to lose 8-6. In the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2013, she led Sabine Lisicki 3-0 and 4-2 in the final set but lost 6-4.

Williams said she may need to look at her future tournament schedule. This was only her eighth tournament since she began her comeback in March, following a 14-month break to have her first baby, and she arrived here having not played a competitive match since last year’s US Open.

However, Williams insisted she still had the hunger to win more Grand Slam titles. Asked where would be her best chance to win another one, she said the French Open simply because it was the next on the calendar.

Williams admitted her comeback had not been easy but added: “From day one, I expect to go out and, quite frankly, to win. That hasn’t happened. But I do like my attitude.

“I like that I don’t want to go out there and say: ‘I expect to lose because I had a year off. I’ve been playing for 10 months. I’m not supposed to win.’ I don’t have that attitude.”

Pliskova’s victory meant there would be no repeat of last year’s controversial US Open final between Osaka and Williams.

Earlier in the day, Osaka had taken advantage of Svitolina’s physical issues, winning in just 72 minutes as the Ukrainian struggled with the neck and shoulder problem which has troubled her throughout the tournament. Svitolina retrieved a break of serve midway through the first set but was broken again when she served at 4-5.

Osaka was soon 5-0 up in the second set and rounded off her victory in emphatic fashion with an ace followed by a smash.

“I just try to keep looking forward,” Osaka said. “I’m not really satisfied. I am happy that I’m here but, at the same time, I want to keep going. There are more matches to win.

“Especially now that I’ve won a Grand Slam, I feel like I want to win another one. I’m so close and I just want to keep going.”