NEW YORK -- As the match slipped away from the Williams sisters on Thursday night, the crowd oscillated between desperation and brief exhilaration.
Moments of greatness from Venus and Serena were greeted with cacophonous celebration. But it was the times when things went astray that betrayed the real emotion of this occasion.
Within Arthur Ashe, there was a collective acceptance that we'll likely never see the two together on the court again.
As the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova edged away, unforced errors or lost break points were met with murmuring encouragement from the crowd, willing their heroines to summon another tennis miracle.