"She wanted to win, that broke my heart" - When Serena Williams said she liked 18-year-old Dayana Yastremska's attitude after Australian Open loss
Serena Williams lavished praise on a teenage Dayana Yastremska following their clash at the 2019 Australian Open.
Williams was seeded 16th at that edition of the Melbourne Major. She booked her place in the third round of the tournament with comfortable wins over Tatjana Maria and Eugenie Bouchard.
Her third round opponent, the 18-year-old Dayana Yastremska, had ousted Sam Stosur and 23rd seed Carla Suarez Navarro in her first two matches.
Serena Williams registered a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1 win over the Ukrainian to book her place in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Yastremska was in tears after the match and the American hugged her at the net, saying:
"Don't cry. You did amazing. Don't cry."
The then-37-year-old said in her post-match press conference that Yastremska being upset showed that she was on the court to win and not just to have a good match. Williams called the Ukrainian a "good talent" and praised her attitude.
"As she was walking towards the net, I could tell she was quite upset. I kind of liked that. It shows she wasn't just there to play a good match, she was there to win. She wanted to win. That really broke my heart. I think she's a good talent. It's good to see that attitude," the American said.
Serena Williams went on to reach the quarterfinals of the 2019 Australian Open before being beaten by Karolina Pliskova.
As for Yastremska, she has made history at the Australian Open 2024 by becoming the first qualifier to reach the semifinals of the tournament since 1978.
Serena Williams won 92 singles matches at the Australian Open
Serena Williams is among the greatest players in the history of the Australian Open, with 92 wins from 105 matches. She won the women's singles title at the tournament seven times, which is more than any woman in the Open Era. Only Margaret Court's tally of 11 titles is more than the American's in the history of the Melbourne Major.
Williams' first triumph at the tournament came in 2003, when she won a tight final 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4 against her sister Venus Williams. Her second title came in 2005 after another three-set win (2-6, 6-3, 6-0) over Lindsay Davenport.
Serena Williams' tournament wins in Melbourne in 2007 and 2009 came through comprehensive wins over Maria Sharapova (6-1, 6-2) and Dinara Safina (6-0, 6-3) respectively. She successfully defended her title in 2010 by triumphing 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 over Justine Henin.
The American's sixth title came five years later in 2015, when she got the better of Maria Sharapova in the final. Her last tournament win at the Australian Open came during her pregnancy stage, where she triumphed over her sister Venus Williams in the title clash.