Serena Williams dug a hole for herself and is a set away from the end of her U.S. Open run after losing the first set to Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia, 7-5.
Williams had a golden opportunity to take the first set over Tomljanovic after breaking Tomljanovic for a 5-3 lead. But Williams failed to close out the set on her serve. Coming up short appeared to rattle her as she committed a series of errors, hitting balls long and into the net as Tomljanovic pounced on her opportunities and finished off the set with a forehand cross court winner that Williams barely moved for.