Nadia Podoroska beats Serena Williams in her milestone match

Serena Williams became the 15th women’s tennis player ever to play in 1000 matches on Wednesday in the second round of the 2021 Italian Open. However, the eighth-seed, and 23-time grand slam champion, was beaten 7-6, 7-5 to Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska, the 2020 French Open semifinalist.

Podoroska beat Williams by the narrowest of margins. She was able to break Williams four times, while Williams was only able to break Podoroska thrice. Podoroska, who won the first set tiebreak 8-6, won 78 points, while Williams won 73.

The fact that Podoroska beat Williams should not come as a huge surprise due to the fact the two players played against each other on clay. At the 2020 French Open, Podoroska became the first female qualifier ever to reach the final four of the French Open in singles.

Serena Williams joins a distinguished list that includes Martina Navratilova (1661 matches), Chris Evert (1455), Virginia Wade (1168), Patty Schnyder (1099), Francesca Schiavone (1093), Venus Williams (1073), Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (1064), Samantha Stosur (1053), Conchita Martinez (1036), Stephanie Foretz (1025), Steffi Graf (1017), Jelena Jankovic (1014), Svetlana Kuznetsova (1007), and Alberta Brianti (1005). Serena Williams is also fourth among active players in matches played. She only trails Venus Williams, Stosur, and Kuznetsova.

What stands out for Serena Williams’s milestone accomplishment, is that she was able to win 85.1% of her total matches to date. Venus Williams has only won 75.8% of her total matches. Kuznetsova has won 66%, while Stosur has won 57.7%.

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Serena Williams’ 851 wins is the most among active players, and fourth all-time. The only three players with more wins are Navratilova (1442), Evert (1309), and Graf (900).

Even though Poronkova made Wednesday headlines in women’s tennis, she could not keep the momentum heading into Thursday. That is because she lost 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the third round of the Italian Open to Petra Martic of Croatia.

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