Serena's chase to 24 Slams weighed on Hank Aaron's mind

At the Yarra Valley Classic, Serena Williams captured her first win since her opening round victory against Kristie Ahn at Roland Garros back in September. Despite months without competitive play, the 23-time major champion posted a solid 6-1, 6-4 win over Daria Gavrilova in Melbourne on Sunday.

The 39-year-old was feeling good about clinching her first win Down Under, but shortly after learned she was on the mind of baseball legend Hank Aaron before he passed and was left in utter shock.

"No way," Serena said in her post-match presser.

Sports journalist Howard Bryant tweeted out an article that covered his last conversation with the record holding 25-time All Star player. In 2018, which was the last time Bryant had seen the baseball legend, Aaron asked, "Do you think Serena will get another one?"

"Wow. That's wild. That gives me chills. Oh, that's—I wish I could have done it when he was around," Serena told reporters. "Growing up, going to school and reading books about him and I never in a lifetime would have dreamt that I would have been on his mind. So that's really amazing."

Known as “Hammerin’ Hank,” Aaron is most known for dethroning Babe Ruth to become the home-run king with 755 struck in total during his decorated career. Aaron passed at the age of 86 on January 22, and though the world No. 11 never met Aaron, he was someone she greatly admired, and described him as "incredibly cool and just legendary status."

"It was a great loss, it really was. I was so sad to see that happen. But his legend will live on, and yeah, many people will always know all the wonderful things he did for sport," Serena said.

The Yarra Valley Classic's No. 5 seed will enjoy a day off before facing Tsvetana Pironkova. The two last squared off at last year's US Open, with Serena prevailing in three sets to advance to the hard-court major's semifinal.