Harmony Tan becomes only the third player to reach the second week of a Grand Slam after beating Serena Williams in Round 1 or Round 2
Harmony Tan became only the third player to beat Serena Williams in the first or second round of a Grand Slam and reach its second week. Only two other women have accomplished this, namely Venus Williams and Garbine Muguruza.
The Frenchwoman beat the former World No. 1 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(7) in the opening round of Wimbledon before defeating 32nd seed Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-3, 6-4 in the next round. Tan defeated Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-1 to book her place in the last 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.
The 24-year-old thus became only the third player to defeat Serena Williams in the first two rounds of a major and reach its second week.
Harmony Tan was having a lot of fun in her 51-minute victory over Katie Boulter ⚡
The Frenchwoman's brilliant run continues and she's into the second week of #Wimbledon https://t.co/Lj9weEAhL9
Venus beat her sister 7-6(4), 6-1 in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open. She eventually reached the quarterfinals of the tournament before losing to Lindsay Davenport.
Muguruza locked horns with Serena Williams in the second round of the 2014 French Open and won 6-2, 6-2. The Spaniard reached her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros that year before losing to eventual champion Maria Sharapova despite winning the opening set.
Harmony Tan joins Venus Williams (1998 Australian Open) and Garbine Muguruza (2014 Roland-Garros) as the only three players to defeat Serena Williams in R1 or R2 of a Grand Slam and reach the second week
This year's Wimbledon has been quite special for Tan. She started with a win over one of the all-time greats and will now play in the second week of the tournament. The Frenchwoman will face 20th seed Amanda Anisimova in the last 16 of the grass court Major.
Serena Williams made her comeback to tennis after almost a year
Serena made her comeback to tennis after being on the sidelines for almost a year. The American previously featured in the mixed doubles tournament at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne with Ons Jabeur as her partner.
The duo reached the semifinals of the competition and were scheduled to play Aleksandra Krunic and Magda Linette. However, they were forced to withdraw after Jabeur suffered an injury.
Her match against Tan at Wimbledon marked Serena's first singles match since last year's grass court Major. She put in a tough fight but was unable to come out on top in the end.
Venus Williams is also competing at Wimbledon this year, in the mixed doubles tournament alongside Jamie Murray. The pair are in the second round of the event after beating Michael Venus and Alicja Rosolska.
Following her exit from Wimbledon, it will be interesting to see what Serena Williams does next.