"Since I know tennis, you were there, & you are an amazing champion"- Daniil Medvedev, Grigor Dimitrov & other ATP stars pay tribute to Serena Williams
A number of men's tennis stars paid tribute to Serena Williams, who is in the final hours of her illustrious tennis career.
In a video uploaded by the ATP on Twitter, players heaped praise on the 23-time Grand Slam champion and thanked her for her contribution to tennis.
The video starts with Felix Auger-Aliassime thanking Serena Williams for inspiring him and many others, and for her contributions to the sport.
"Serena, thank you for everything you did for tennis, thank you for inspiring me and many others to chase their dreams, to dream big and to work hard and try to achieve the best in their career. You still inspire me today, wish you the best, for you and your family in the future," the Canadian said.
World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev wished Serena a happy retirement and called her an amazing champion.
"Hi Serena, I wish you a happy retirement if we can say like this. Since I know tennis, you were there, and you are an amazing champion. I wish you all the best and, yea, you're just amazing, continue being this way," Medvedev stated.
Frances Tiafoe had a touching message for Serena Williams, in which he thanked her for taking him under her wing and said that it was unbelievable to be able to call her a friend.
'Thank you for, you know, taking me under your wing," Tiafoe said. "Me being able to call you a friend is unbelievable. You know, I've watched you play and see what you've done for so many years, you winning slams when I was one year old and you know, what you did will live forever."
The 24-year-old also called Serena a true icon and said that she was the only reason he was able to play tennis. Tiafoe stated that if he could have even a quarter of the career she had, he would call that a hell of a career.
"You're a true icon, you're not just a tennis player, you're the only reason I'm able to play the game. So hopefully, I can have my name in the same sentence as you. If I have half the career, even a quarter of the career you had, I'd call that one hell of a career. So, thank you and I hope you enjoy your second chapter," Tiafoe added.
Grigor Dimitrov, who is a good friend of both the Williams sisters, said that he could only wish Serena lots of health as he knew what lay ahead.
"You know, I don't even know what to wish in the sense that her hands are in so many different opportunities, like businesses and everything like that," the Bulgarian said. "For me, all I can wish her is lots of health and like, enjoy what's gonna after that because I know what's ahead, we're such good friends and it's gonna be such an honor for me to go around the same path as you outside the court, and lot of beautiful moments ahead."
All the best, @serenawilliams ❤️ https://t.co/ySeJnes9du
Serena Williams will play Danka Kovinic in the first round of the US Open
Serena Williams will appear at the US Open for the final time and will face Danka Kovinic in the first round. If the 40-year-old wins, she will be up against either Jaquelin Cristan or second seed Anett Kontaveit in the second round.
Serena Williams will open with Danka Kovinic in her final US Open. https://t.co/cSjGuZIHKj
The American has one a sole match on tour this season, against Nuria Parrizas-Dias at the Canadian Open, while having lost three matches. The American has also partnered with her sister Venus to play the doubles event at the New York Major ahead of her retirement.