Of all the great mysteries that 2019 threw at us, and lord knows there were many, the one surrounding Dustin Martin somehow managing to wriggle his way into a private island holiday in the Maldives with Serena Williams burns brightest.
[jwplayer LeO8KK15]
At some point over the AFL off-season, Martin wound up in the Maldives, in a private beach villa with Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian, and the entire event was documented via Serena’s Instagram stories. That was it. That was all we knew. Until now.
Last week in Auckland, Williams was asked about the somewhat unconventional friendship, revealing that it a mutual pal was the key link in the chain.
Williams revealed “He’s friends with one of my best friends and they were there and he was there. He’s a great guy. I loved hanging out with him.”
Following Williams’ rather clinical dismantling of Anastasia Potapova in the first round of the Australian Open yesterday, the virtually undisputed Greatest Of All Time went a bit further, explaining the meeting was largely one of coincidence.
Williams stated that the casual little jaunt was “just by chance,” reiterating that “we met in the Maldives and he just happened to be there and we just hung out. We had a blast.”
She then went on to say that the dual AFL Premiership player was “so good at his job, it’s insane, and that “it’s so cool to know other athletes that are so good at their craft and almost just get to talk to them and see what makes them so good.”
Williams and Martin have reportedly maintained their friendship ever since, with Williams stating that they “definitely plan on catching up” while she’s in town for the Open.
‘Course that makes things only slightly awkward when you consider Ash Barty frequently has Richmond captain and Martin’s teammate Trent Cotchin as a guest in her corporate box during matches in Melbourne.
But that’s a bridge that we’ll cross when we get to it.
Hopefully in the tournament semi-final.
Would be good.
