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Serena Williams came close to a sensational comeback win on her Wimbledon return before narrowly losing an epic three-setter to Maya Joint.<\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Williams congratulated Joint at the net before lapping up the ovation that came her way as she made her exit.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t get much sleep last night, I was up until 2am just thinking about it,” Joint said in her on-court interview.<\/p>\n
“Walking out, I forgot the warm-up, my legs weren’t moving.<\/p>\n
“I really don’t know what to say right now. I don’t know what just happened.”<\/p>\n
Williams did not carry out a mandatory post-match news conference, releasing a statement instead.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n