Serena Williams applauds Karolina Pliskova for Australian Open quarter-final victory
Williams: "Literally I've never seen anything like it"
Wednesday 23 January 2019 08:33, UK
Serena Williams admitted her Australian Open quarter-final opponent Karolina Pliskova played "lights-out" tennis when on the brink of defeat to cause a huge upset.
The 37-year-old American rallied back from a set down against the Czech and was leading 5-1 in the final set before losing six games in a row to crash out 6-4 4-6 7-5 in stunning fashion.
Williams rolled her ankle when serving for the match in the seventh game and she then failed to win another point on serve in the match.
It hasn't happened yet, but I feel like it's going to happen. Just keep taking it one match at a time, just keep soldiering on, I guess.
"I know there's a lot of things that I need to do, a lot of things I need to do to get better, a lot of maybe more just matches," Williams said.
"I don't really take losses well. But, like I said, Karolina literally played lights out starting 5-1, 40-30. Literally I've never seen anything like it.
"If anything, I think that's a little bit easier to know, 'Okay, next time I'm up 5-1 against anybody, whether it's her or anyone, I just need to make sure I play lights out when I have match point'."
It was a cruel blow for Williams who has been chasing Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slams since winning in Melbourne in 2017 while pregnant, then taking time off to have a baby before returning to action at the French Open last year.
The American vowed to keep "soldiering on", insisting the landmark Grand Slam is still achievable despite the clock ticking.
"I mean, the big picture for me is always winning. I'm not going to sit here and lie about that," she said.
"But it hasn't happened yet, but I feel like it's going to happen. Just keep taking it one match at a time, just keep soldiering on, I guess."
Williams added: "It's definitely not easy for me. 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 here 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. I have the attitude of, 'I've only been playing 10 months, but I expect to win, and if I don't, it's disappointing'.
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