Serena's Wimbledon comeback fizzles out in first round
LONDON, June 30 : Serena Williams showed flashes of brilliance before her much anticipated return to competitive action after a four-year absence fizzled out in a 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3 defeat to little-known Australian Maya Joint in the Wimbledon first round.
There were high hopes that the 44-year-old would become the oldest woman to win a singles match at the All England Club since Martina Navratilova achieved the feat aged 47 in 2004, but Joint had other ideas.
The 20-year-old Joint, who was not even born when Williams won the first seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, blocked out all the hullabaloo surrounding her opponent's comeback to produce the most notable victory of her fledgling career.
Joint walked on to Centre Court on the back of winning just one match in her last 12 tournaments but by the time she walked off, she was basking in the glory of delivering a brutal knockout blow to one of the greats of the sport.
"It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything," said Williams, who won the last of her seven All England Club titles 10 years ago.
'THIS IS PRETTY CRAZY,' JOINT SAYS
"I don't know what just happened to be honest," Joint told the cheering Centre Court crowd.
"I've been dreaming about this moment since I was a little kid, so this is pretty crazy."
Wearing headphones, Williams was greeted by a deafening roar as she stepped back onto the most famous stage in tennis after a gap of 1,462 days.
Her sister Venus was among those in the crowd standing on their feet to film the cheers that greeted Serena's entrance under a closed Centre Court roof. Her daughters Olympia and Adira also watched on spellbound.
Fellow American great John McEnroe could not wait to see Williams in action again. "I can't even believe this is happening, the buzz is insane," he said courtside.
LIFE AWAY FROM TENNIS
It is not like Williams had been leading a humdrum life since she chose to "evolve away" from tennis four years ago.
As a globe-trotting woman who juggles running a venture capital company with her duties as a mother of two, she made sure that her life kept buzzing away from the grand tennis arenas she had called home for more than two decades.
Only problem was that for a champion who was addicted to that "winning feeling", it seems life away from tennis just could not match the adrenaline rush that would surge through her veins every time she belted the ball away to hoist a trophy.
Thanks to her insatiable appetite for success, Williams evolved back into singles action on Tuesday.
Playing her first competitive singles match since the 2022 U.S. Open, the American great might have been wondering if she had made the right call to accept a wildcard when she struggled to produce the kind of firepower that used to flatten rivals such as Joint.
But with Williams making her first tentative steps back into prime time tennis, the 87th ranked Australian came out swinging to rattle her American idol during the opening set exchanges.
However, the woman who McEnroe hails as "the GOAT" and "one of the best athletes - male or female - in any sports" would not go quietly and her roars of "C'mon" could be heard far and wide as she fought back from match point down to snatch the second set in a tiebreak, firing down a 122 mph serve en route.
LONG SERVICE RETURN ENDS COMEBACK
However, Joint did not let that setback shatter her confidence or throw her off stride.
Around 45 minutes later she was holding aloft her arms in victory after Williams ended one of the most talked about comebacks in sporting history by swiping a service return long.
"I didn't get much to sleep last night. I was up till 2 a.m. just thinking about walking out," Joint said, still grinning from ear to ear.
"My legs weren't moving... she has such an aura, she's such a legend. I really don't know how I got a pretty good start in the match."
She will next play Filipino 29th seed Alexandra Eala.
