Joint seals end of Williams comeback adventure

US-born Australian Maya Joint put an end to the Serena Williams Wimbledon singles comeback as the 20-year-old eliminated the former No. 1 with 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 first-round win on Tuesday.

The loss to a player coming out of an illness slump and losing 13 of her last 14 previous matches still leaves Williams breathing room after her battle on Centre Court in front of a sympathetic crowd..

The 44-year-old will play in doubles here with her 46-year-old sister Venus as the pair try to re-live their glory years when they won six Wimbledon titles together,

“I don’t know what just happened, to be honest,” the stunned winner said. “I didnt get much sleep last night. I was up to 2 a.m. thinking about it.

“During the warmup my legs weren’t moving. I don’t know how but I got off to a pretty good start,” she said after two hours,22 minutes.

“Serena is an aura, a legend. I’ve been dreaming of this moment ever since I was a little kid. It’s all pretty crazy.”

Joint said she felt her nerves trying to close out the win after blowing a second-set match point.

“She lifted her level as I was trying to finish it off. But I had the belief that I could win, so I took advantage of the moment.”

Williams, who accepted a wild card singles entry a week ago after pondering the plan, was watched by her husband and two daughters as she played an official match for the first time since the 2022 US Open.

Williams last competed on the Wimbledon grass in 2022 and has now lost in the first round in her last three appearances. She won the title seven times during her heyday as a top-ranked threat.

The 87th-ranked Joint broke Williams in the penultimate game of the opening set, claiming it a game later with a forehand winner to the corner.

The youngster started the second set with a break of the veteran but was passed as Williams got it back for 3-all.

Joint responded immediately with a re-break with William answering again and gaining confidence in the 11th game, where she overcame two double-faults and saved for break points.

The icon saved a match point in the tiebreaker and took it into a third set second later from a Joint return error.

The Aussie came from a break down in the final set and advanced to the second round on her third match point as Williams returned long.

Williams was competing here for the 22nd time and lost only her fourth career Grand Slam match in the first round against 78 victories at the opening stage.