By Chris Oddo | Tuesday January 3, 2016
Serena Williams was knocked out of the ASB Classic by World No.72 Madison Brengle on Wednesday in Auckland.
Photo Source: Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty
The Williams Sisters were both sent packing from the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday.
Venus Williams, who won her first round match over wild card Jade Lewis, 7-6(2), 6-2, quickly announced that she was not fit enough to play her second-round match against Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
The 36-year-old had her first-round match postponed due to rain and because of that fact was due to play her second match of the day on Wednesday evening in Auckland.
But the biggest shock came a few hours later when Serena Williams fell victim to American Madison Brengle, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4. Williams had dropped just one game to Brengle in their only previous meeting, but on Wednesday she quickly found herself in trouble after blowing a break lead in the first set and dropping the opener, 6-4.
Williams improved her form in patches in the middle set, but was uncharacteristically wild throughout the two-hour and 13-minute tilt. She finished with 88 unforced errors in the unruly wind and despite taking the second set in a tiebreaker, could not manage a break in the final set.
In the final game Williams saved two match points before tossing in her only double-fault of the match on Brengle’s third match point.
"I really think I played—I'm trying to think of a word that's not obscene—but that's how I played," Serena told press after the match,” according to WTATennis.com. "88 unforced errors is too much, just way too many. It's a lot. I can't expect to win hitting that many errors. I couldn't get used to the wind; my opponent was playing in the same conditions, and maybe the wind was more suited for her game, but it was really annoying me for whatever reason."
Brengle gets her second career Top-5 win and moves on to face Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals.
Our Take:
It’s probably a tad too early to panic about Serena Williams’ form. She had not played an official match since last year’s U.S. Open until this week. Make no mistake about it: she played horribly in this match, but it’s all a part of a process for Williams. She needs time to shake the rust off, needs to get as many reps in as she can, and she did some of that this week. Ideally, she’d have played better and gone deeper into the draw, but don’t expect Williams to start losing to players ranked outside of the Top-50 with regularity now.
Instead, expect the opposite. This loss could serve as a spark. A crushing blow that helps Williams crystalize that world-class desire and competitive fire that she’s always possessed. She’ll be a factor in Melbourne if she’s healthy, whether it is windy or not.
As for Brengle, this was a great win. She’s been a hard-nosed, hard-hitting player on tour for years, and did what was necessary to take Williams out. She deserves lots of credit for the role she played in this upset.
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