Like a prize fighter moving in for the knockout blow, she forced Tomljanovic into a corner, then swooped forward to bludgeon away a drive volley. A second match point left the lunging Australian skewered deep behind the baseline as she sought in vain to retrieve a forceful approach shot. Resolute and focused, as she had been all evening, Tomljanovic replied with a forehand of peerless excellence; still Williams refused to buckle, drilling an untouchable return.

Five times in all Williams hauled herself back from the precipice, her fearless shot-making and clenched-fist belligerence offering a final glorious vignette of all that she has stood for. As the winner of 23 majors and a global icon for millions, she has long since secured her legacy. Yet, if a career spanning more than a quarter of a century can be encapsulated in one game, this was the one – a statement so powerful that it almost rendered redundant a post-match inquiry about how she hoped to be remembered.

“There’s so many things to be remembered by,” reflected Williams after her 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 defeat. “Like the fight. I’m such a fighter. I don’t know. I feel like I really brought something, and bring something, to tennis. The different looks, the fist pumps, the just crazy intensity. 

“Obviously the passion, I think, is a really good word. Yeah, just continuing through ups and downs. I could go on and on. But I just honestly am so grateful that I had this moment, and that I’m Serena.”

Those sentiments were shared by her adoring New York public, who rose as one to acclaim their six-time champion as she clipped one last forehand into the net to signal the end. She had given them everything, turning back the clock with a signature display of power, athleticism and bellowing passion, and they had replied in kind, willing her on with a deafening wall of noise.

The preternatural composure of Tomljanovic ensured it was not enough. The laser-like focus the 46th-ranked Australian showed to hold her nerve amid the cacophony, shrugging off the graceless glee with which the crowd greeted her every misstep, proved every bit as decisive as her ability to match the power and obduracy of Williams. 

“I just really blocked it out as much as I could,” said Tomljanovic. “It did get to me a few times internally. I mean, I didn’t take it personally because I would be cheering for Serena, too, if I wasn’t playing her. But it was definitely not easy.”

The 29-year-old nonetheless matched Williams step for step, overcoming a 3-5 deficit to take the first set, battling back from 4-0 down in the second to force a tiebreak, and responding to a potentially fatal break of serve at the start of the decider by winning six games in a row. 

It was an absorbing, high-quality contest, a far cry from the tepid performance Williams produced against Emma Raducanu in Cincinnati, and the level she showed – combined with the self-confessed vagueness of her intentions – will inevitably turn thoughts to the possibility that she might reconsider her decision to “evolve away” from the sport. 

Williams’s movement may not be what it once was – understandably, given that she will be 41 next month – but it has improved with each successive match in New York. She has played only six singles matches since returning from a year-long injury absence at Wimbledon this summer, yet her progress over the course of that brief body of work has been such that it seems natural to wonder what a more sustained push might yield. 

“I don’t know, I’m not thinking about that,” said Williams, before adding with a mischievous smile: “I always did love Australia, though.”

Yet she wrote touchingly of her desire to have a second child in the Vogue article announcing her retirement, and it is farfetched to imagine she will pitch up in Melbourne for January’s Australian Open. Williams conceded as much as she reflected on how far she has come – and where she has yet to go.

“It takes a lot of work to get here,” she said. “Clearly I’m still capable. It takes a lot more than that. I’m ready to be a mom, explore a different version of Serena. Technically in the world I’m still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I’m still walking.”

The clearest indication of her feelings came in the emotionally raw aftermath of defeat, as she tearfully addressed her family at courtside.

“Thank you, daddy, I know you’re watching,” she said. “Thanks, mom. I just thank everyone that’s here, that’s been on my side for so many years, literally decades. But it all started with my parents, and they deserve everything, so I’m really grateful to them. 

“And I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus, so thank you, Venus. She’s the only reason Serena Williams ever existed. 

“It’s been a fun ride. It’s been the most incredible ride and journey I’ve ever been on in my life. I’m just so grateful to every single person that’s ever said: ‘Go, Serena’ in their life. I’m just so grateful, because you got me here.”

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The Romanian obviously knew something we didn’t. Back on Centre Court for the first time since her career-defining victory over Serena Williams in 2019, she played like a woman eager to make up for lost time, dismissing Paula Badosa, the fourth seed, 6-1, 6-2 in exactly an hour. In every sense, her timing was perfect. Halep, who defeated the Spaniard by a similar scoreline two months ago in Madrid, struck 17 winners. Her returning, movement and ability to absorb Badosa’s power were extraordinary. It was all very reminiscent of her famous victory over Williams, a success that she is being backed to repeat by the oddsmakers, who have installed her as the title favourite.

Their confidence does not look misplaced. Halep, seeded 16th seed and through to the quarter-finals for the fifth time, is now the only grand slam champion left in the draw. She has yet to drop a set and will next face another powerful baseliner in the shape of Amanda Anisimova, the 20th seed. The American ended the impressive run of Harmony Tan, the 115th-ranked Frenchwoman who defeated Serena Williams in the opening round, 6-2, 6-3. Halep will approach the meeting with confidence, however, having demolished Anisimova for the loss of just three games when they met 12 days ago in the Bad Homburg quarter-finals. The outlook could not be brighter for the former world No 1. 

Six months ago, Halep could barely have imagined herself in such a position. Lacking confidence and momentum following her calf injury, she had fallen out of love with the game. A fourth-round exit to Alizé Cornet at the Australian Open did nothing to alter that feeling. At the age of 30, having slipped out of the top 10 for the first time in seven years as a result of her prolonged inactivity, she was contemplating retirement. 

In April, however, Halep began working with Patrick Mouratoglou, the French coach who guided Williams to 10 of her 23 grand slam titles. The effect has been transformative, with Halep’s tally of 30 wins this season eclipsed only by Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur, the top two players in the world.  

“I think the work is really important to be able to play well,” said Halep. “I worked really hard in the past two, three months. I’m really happy with all that I’ve done and that’s why I’m starting to play better and better. 

“It means a lot that I’m back in quarter-finals after I struggled so much with injury and self-confidence. But, as I said, I’m working hard every day, and I feel like if I do that I will get better. I’m really happy with the way I’m playing, I’m really confident, and it’s a pleasure to be on court… Everything comes together.” 

On a forgettable day for French tennis, Cornet followed Tan out of the tournament, Ajla Tomljanovic prevailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 against the world No 37 in a contest notable for its lung-busting baseline exchanges. 

“Her level was really high from the get-go,” said Tomljanovic after reaching the last eight for the second year in a row. “I think the second point of the first game was so long that I kind of thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know if I’m going to physically be able to keep up with her.’ But I found a way.  

“It felt like a coin toss a little bit. I mean, she fights till the end. She wasn’t giving me much.”

Tomljanovic will face Kazakhstan’s Elena Riybakina, a 7-5, 6-3 winner over Petra Martic, for a place in the semi-finals.

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It was the Croatia-born Australian’s first win over a top-10 player for two years, and only the fourth of her career. That it should have come against Muguruza, an athlete hewn in her own image – tall, powerful and shot through with a deep and occasionally self-defeating vein of perfectionism – will surely have made victory all the sweeter. Tomljanovic had lost three of her previous four meetings with the Spaniard, but claiming the scalp of a player who arrived in Palm Springs fresh from lifting the Chicago title offered further evidence that, at 28, Tomljanovic is coming to understand her game and her disposition better than ever.

“I get really happy when I get into these moments where I get nervous and I manage to stay calm and focus just on the task,” said Tomljanovic, who will face Tamara Zidansek, the 26th seed and French Open semi-finalist, in round three.

“Even when I have in the past missed my chances or had really tough losses against the top players, you’re like, ‘Well, OK, I’m going to learn from it.’ But the next time you’re in the same position, it’s never really the same. It’s always a new moment. But you can take the lessons before and apply it. The fact that it’s always new – in that moment, you have to problem solve.

“I’m just happy that I took everything I could from all the losses before, and just did my best to react in a way that will benefit me.

“I knew that I could have lost again [after] putting myself in good situations. But I’m going out there knowing that I’m capable, and that I can come up with the goods when it matters.”

Like Emma Raducanu, who also tumbled to a surprise defeat after receiving a first-round bye, Muguruza struggled to find her range off the ground against an opponent who had acclimatised to the unique playing conditions at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden with a convincing first-round win. She even started like Raducanu, winning her opening service game convincingly and going 0-30 up against serve before Tomljanovic steadied the ship. 

As the easy power that is her calling card proved elusive, however, Muguruza began to press too hard, 15 unforced errors flowing from her racket by the end of the first set. The quality of the Australian’s returning only added to her angst; despite landing a healthy 79% of her first serves in the opener, Muguruza was broken three times. 

Having finished the first set in desultory fashion, double-faulting to drop a game she had led 40-0, Muguruza began to show greater patience and composure. As she began to adapt to both the conditions and her opponent, lengthening the rallies and drawing mistakes from Tomljanovic, there was a dramatic reversal of roles. It is often said the Spaniard lacks a plan B, and yet here she was, showcasing an extensive repertoire of drop shots, sliced forehands and topspin lobs to complement her trademark power game and snatch six of the next seven games.

It looked like a decisive shift of momentum, and there was a time not so long ago when it might have been. But Tomljanovic is made of sterner stuff these days, the perfectionist in her counterbalanced by a stronger mentality in the clutch moments. She will have hated the 14 unforced errors she made in the second set almost as much as the way she let slip a two-game lead in the decider. But how she will be encouraged by her dogged resistance in the seventh game, where she went toe-to-toe with Muguruza from the baseline to wrest the Spaniard’s serve from her once more after trailing 40-15. How she will be heartened by the fortitude she showed in consolidating that advantage with a solid hold before claiming a second break to seal the match.

“Everyone in this tournament, we all go through the same emotions,” reflected Tomljanovic, who said she has benefited from working with a psychologist over the past year. “The one that comes out on top is the one that gets over it as quickly as possible, but still takes the lessons out of it.

“Just learning what to do in certain moments is really, I think, key for me at this stage in my career.”

Elsewhere, sixth seed Maria Sakkari was beaten, losing 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 to Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic. There was better news for Ons Jabeur, however, the Tunisian claiming a WTA Tour-leading 45th victory of the year with a 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 win over Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia. Karolina Pliskova, the top seed, defeated the Polish qualifier Magdalena Frech, 7-5, 6-2.

Also through is Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 title winner, who saw off Alison Riske 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 to set up a third-round meeting with Anett Kontaveit, the 18th seed, who beat the Canadian in straight sets at Eastbourne. “It’s a different surface so things can go either way, because both of us have very suitable hard-court game styles,” said Andreescu, seeded 16th. “I think it’s going to be a good match. I definitely have to bring my A game, because she’s a really good player.”

In the men’s draw, Daniil Medvedev opened his Indian Wells campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Mackenzie McDonald of the US. “I’m really pleased, because usually I haven’t played well in Indian Wells, and I haven’t been playing that well in practice,” said Medvedev. “[I am] really happy with my performance. That’s the most important, no matter how I played before the tournament.”

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