Australian Maya Joint has risen to the occasion and ended Serena Williams' return to singles tennis with a statement 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 win inside Centre Court at Wimbledon. Joint entered the grand slam with just one win from her last 14 matches in a difficult second season as a top-line WTA pro, but her steady game paid off against the rusty American legend.
Joint takes early lead
Joint took the lead with a crucial break in the eighth game of the match and fought extremely hard late in the second set in a bid to spoil the highly anticipated comeback without the tension of a deciding frame. However, Williams battled back and had Centre Court rocking, only to fall short against the nervous but inspired Aussie in the third and final set.
Match point drama
Joint served a double fault on her first match point but, after an ace, made no mistake with her second. Williams' career has now resumed the same way it ended four years ago, with defeat to an Australian, after Ajla Tomljanovic knocked her out of the 2022 US Open. The 44-year-old, who had Australian doubles great Rennae Stubbs in her box as coach, will stick around this time to link up with sister Venus as they restart a partnership that won six Wimbledon doubles titles from 2000 to 2016.
Joint's next opponent
Joint, meanwhile, progresses to a second-round clash with another popular star in the Philippines' 29th seed Alexandra Eala. The 20-year-old Joint has been heavily supported during her slump by Sam Stosur, who had her own shining moment against Williams in the 2011 US Open final, and tipped by the Australian champion to lift her game at Wimbledon. "We're all talking about Maya because we're all from Australia — but you can't tell me Serena isn't going to be nervous, too," Stosur said. "I just watched her practice, Maya's hitting the ball great, playing well. This is a real chance; you see some people step up, and you see some sort of hide away and be cowed, and we've all seen (with her two WTA titles) that she can be the one who steps up. This is another chance for her to show that." Stosur urged Joint not to overcomplicate tennis just because of her opponent, advice that held true in the biggest set of her life.
