In 2018, Serena Williams arrived at the Silicon Valley Classic seeded sixth at the event.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, who won her first WTA Tour title in 1999, drew British star Johanna Konta in the first round.
The American had beaten Konta in their only previous meeting in the 2017 Australian Open. Serena, the second seed in Australia, defeated ninth seed Konta 6-2, 6-3.
A year later, a much different result occurred in northern California.
Johanna Konta almost ‘double-bagelled’ Serena Williams in 2018
Few could have predicted what would occur when Serena Williams and Johanna Konta walked onto court for their first-round match at the 2018 Silicon Valley Classic.
Serena, seeded sixth at the event, suffered the heaviest defeat of her career.
Konta lost only one game to the American, securing a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
During her on-court interview, Konta said: “It’s an absolute privilege to be on the same court as Serena,” Konta said during her on-court interview after her win. “After all she’s achieved, it’s so humbling just to come up against her.
“She obviously wasn’t playing her best level — nowhere near — so I tried to play the match on my terms and just do what I can out here, put aside what an incredible champion she is, and just play the player on the day.
“I might have been better on the day, but it’s still a humbling experience to be out there with her.”
She later added: “I tried to put aside the incredible champion she is and just play the player of the day.
“She obviously wasn’t playing at her best level, nowhere near it, and I really just tried to play the match on my terms.
“I felt I did better than her on the day but it’s still a humbling experience to be out here with her.”
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Konta, the former world number four, defeated 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-1, 6-4 in the next round.
Unfortunately for British fans, she lost in the quarter-finals to Elise Mertens, 7-6, 6-3.
Mihaela Buzărnescu won the tournament – her first WTA Tour singles title – defeating Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-0 in the final.
How did Serena Williams react to the loss?
Following her loss in California, Serena reflected on Konta’s performance.
She said: “I think she [Konta] played well in the second set and I think I wasn’t sharp at all in the first set and she got confident and she clearly ran away with it.”
The result came a month after Serena’s loss in the Wimbledon final to Angelique Kerber.
A month after losing to Konta, Serena was in the US Open final. She lost to 6-2, 6-4 to Naomi Osaka.
