Serena Williams came close to a sensational comeback win on her Wimbledon return before narrowly losing an epic three-setter to Maya Joint.

Four years ago, the American great waved what many thought would be a final goodbye to Centre Court after a first-round loss to France’s Harmony Tan.

But on Tuesday, the 44-year-old received an electric reception as she stepped back on to the pristine grass courts on which she won seven singles and six women’s doubles titles.

And, 1,462 days after her last point at the All England Club, Williams demonstrated her never-give-up mentality to save a match point and force a deciding set against a player 24 years her junior.

Despite the crowd’s best attempts to help Williams open the latest chapter of her tennis career with victory, Australia’s Joint held firm to claim a 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 win.

Williams congratulated Joint at the net before lapping up the ovation that came her way as she made her exit.

“I didn’t get much sleep last night, I was up until 2am just thinking about it,” Joint said in her on-court interview.

“Walking out, I forgot the warm-up, my legs weren’t moving.

“I really don’t know what to say right now. I don’t know what just happened.”

Williams did not carry out a mandatory post-match news conference, releasing a statement instead.

“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing,” it read.

“I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.”