Tiger Woods Heralds Serena Williams as 'Literally the Greatest' After Final Match

Golf legend Tiger Woods gave Serena Williams the ultimate respect and reverence for her sensational career after the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion's tennis journey came to an end Friday following a third-round defeat to Ajla Tomljanović on Friday at the U.S. Open.

Woods, a 15-time major winner himself, was on hand in the second round when Williams upset No. 2 Anett Kontaveit.

Williams had previously credited Woods as the reason why she continued to play tennis professionally.

"He's one of the reasons I'm here, one of the main reasons I'm still playing," she told reporters (h/t George Ramsay of CNN).

"We talked a lot. He was really trying to get me motivated. There are a few people, but we were like: 'OK, we can do this together, you know?'"

The 40-year-old Williams fought hard to the finish before falling to a tough opponent in Tomljanovic 5-7, 7-6(4), 1-6 in a match that lasted over three hours.

With that, a 27-year career is now over, and Williams leaves the game after writing one of the most remarkable stories in sports history.