‘Serena’s best is better than Swiatek’s best’ – Bartoli
We’ll never see Serena’s like again, says Marion Bartoli
Serena Williams (USA) plays her last match against Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open 2022 (Antoine Courvercelle/Panoramic)
Serena Williams‘ final flourish at the US Open before she headed into retirement was the perfect demonstration of her greatness.
That’s according to former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli in the latest episode of Match Points.
Although the 40-year-old’s preparation time over the summer might have been minimal, her farewell matches in New York – including a win over then-world No 2 Anett Kontaveit – showed flashes of her former dominance.
And Bartoli says she agrees with Maria Sharapova – it also shows how much better than the rest of the current field Serena was at her peak.
“For Serena at 40 years old to expect her to play at the same level as she was in her 20s, that’s not something we can realistically expect from her,” Bartoli said.
“When you put all of that in perspective, the best of Serena Williams will be better than the best of Iga Swiatek.”
Sharapova had said that she was pleased that Serena got her swansong, saying that she had encouraged her old rival to get back to the court: “I said, ‘No disrespect to this generation but you are so much better and you need to go out there.'”
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