American tennis star Serena Williams shocked crowds last night after she crashed out of the ASB Classic tournament in Auckland.
Tipped for the top spot, Serena crashed out in the second round after a dire match against fellow American Madison Brengle.
And the star blamed “abhorrent” conditions in Auckland for her unceremonious loss, adding that she couldn’t wait to get out of New Zealand.
The 22-time grand slam winner, who had to battle against windy conditions at the Stanley Street venue, said at the post match press conference: “At least I can get out of these conditions so I can get somewhere better, and warmer weather too.”
“I would say it’s my least favourite conditions I’ve ever played in. Again my opponent played in the exact same conditions – she was able to adjust better than me. She obviously did a much better job than I did. I really abhorred these conditions.”
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“I can take solace in the fact that the conditions won’t be like this in Melbourne [for the Australian Open]. This is almost not a great opportunity to assess your game to be honest.”
Serena made 88 unforced errors during the game against Brengle, a statistic she found hard to describe without being “obscene.”
Her American opponent however said her win over the grand slam champion was the stuff of dreams.
“It’s really cool,” Brengle told journalists.
