Serena Williams displayed class and candor after suffering the most stunning collapse of her Grand Slam career.
Karolina Pliskova fought off four match points roaring back from 1-5 down to win six straight games and shock a hobbled and shaky Serena Williams, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, to charge into her first career Australian Open semifinal.
Watch: Pliskova Shocks Serena
A foot fault call nullified an ace on Williams' first match point at 5-1. Then she rolled over her left ankle and never won another point on serve or a game for the rest of the match.
The seven-time Australian Open champion said she didn't choke on match points moments, crediting Pliskova for playing her best under pressure.
"I don’t really take losses well, but like I said, Karolina literally played lights out from 5-1, like literally I’ve never seen anything like that," Serena said afterward. "There’s nothing I did wrong on those match points. I didn't do anything wrong. I just stayed aggressive. She just literally hit the lines on some of those points.
"One she hit an ace, unreturnable serve. Like I literally did everything I could on those match points. It's not like, I can't say that I choked on those match points. She literally played her best tennis ever on those shots. I can't really say that it's incredibly painful as opposed to what can I do better, you know, yeah."
Pliskova denied the 23-time Grand Slam champion's quest to equal Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 major singles titles.
You have to go back to Williams' stunning 2012 Roland Garros opening-round loss to find any comparable collapse in her glorious Grand Slam career.
In Paris, 111th-ranked Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano rallied from a 1-5 deficit in the second-set tiebreaker, rolled to a 5-0 lead in the third set, then fought off a late Serena surge, converting her eighth match point to seal a shocking 4-6, 7-6 (5) 6-3 upset that spanned three hours, three minutes.
It was, by far, Razzano’s biggest Grand Slam win, and it was Serena’s first Grand Slam opening-round loss, snapping a streak of 46 straight opening-round victories That stunning setback prompted Williams to hire coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Reflecting on a painful loss to Pliskova, Williams said it doesn't diminish her commitment to winning more majors.
"I mean, the big picture for me is always winning," Williams said. "I'm not going to sit here and lie about that. But it hasn't happened yet, but I feel like it's going to happen. Just keep taking it one match at a time, just keep soldiering on, I guess."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve