It Was Only Right Serena Williams Played Her Final Match in NYC

After losing on Friday, Serena Williams gave a winning farewell.(Boss Tweed/Flickr)

Before exiting stage left for the final time, Serena gave the crowd one last hurrah

New York City — "Are You Not Entertained?" Maximus asked the sold-out Roman Colosseum.

Today, New York City is modern Rome. And among its many "colosseums," Arthur Ashe Stadium is among the most iconic. Over the past week, the greatest tennis player we've ever seen — in our lifetime — put on the performance of a lifetime.

On Monday night, an unranked Williams was cast in the spotlight. She set a record for the highest night-session attendance across matches in history, with almost 30,000 fans. After all, there's nothing New Yorkers love more than to be entertained.

Set to turn 41 this month, not to mention those creaky knees and a 27-year run as a professional tennis player, Williams found herself tasked with having to pull off the impossible. Indeed, her chances of upsetting the 2nd-ranked player in the world were "slim and none." And when "Slim" found out Serena was a 50-1 long shot to win, even Slim left town.

Yet by the following morning, the headlines around the world read, Serena Williams stuns with upset win at U.S. Open.

The "Queen of Queens" is what they've crowned her. With six U.S. Open championships under her belt, Williams has redefined greatness in the modern era of tennis. But perhaps, above all, what New Yorkers prize most in our athletes and entertainers is a sense of theatre .... a flair for the dramatic.

In short, in the land of Broadway, even athletes are expected to honor — "Thou shalt not bore thy audience." And thankfully as did Kobe in his final game, Serena gave the crowd one last hurrah.