London, July 1 (IANS) Maya Joint played and won the biggest match of her young career to end the Wimbledon singles comeback of the legend Serena Williams in a Centre Court thriller.

Joint, who had never won at Wimbledon before and had entered The Championships on a run of 11 Tour-level defeats dating back to January, registered 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 win over the seven-time champion. She will next faces Alexandra Eala.

Serena saved a first match point in the second-set tie-break and then led by a break in the decider. She defied time with an accomplished display but could not tame Joint’s spirit. The 20-year-old Aussie stood up to Serena’s power and broke her legendary serve five times before ultimately outlasting her. She also sent down 10 aces.

At 44, Serena was the second-oldest woman to play in the Wimbledon women’s singles in the Open era after 47-year-old Martina Navratilova in 2004.

“I don’t know what happened. My legs weren’t moving. I really don’t know how I got a pretty good start in the match. She has such an aura. She is such a legend and this court has so many huge names that have played on it. I have been dreaming of this moment since I was a little kid, so this was pretty crazy,” said Joint in her on-court interview.

“I think the toughest part was just trying to come out on court and play a match against her. The start was nerve-wracking. Trying to finish out the match as well, I think she definitely lifted her level. She played some great tennis there,” she added.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena had last played a singles match 1,397 days ago at the 2022 US Open against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. After a shock loss to Joints, she will remain at the All England Club and play the doubles here with her sister Venus.

Serena did not address reporters after the match but left a statement that was distributed to the media. “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.”

–IANS

bc/