Williams falls just short on Wimbledon singles return

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 onto 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."

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion made her competitive return in the women's doubles earlier this month, almost four years after saying she was "evolving" away from the sport.

While she showed glimpses of her former self alongside Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko at Queen's and Karolina Muchova in Berlin, questions remained over how Williams would fare physically on her return to singles.

By returning, Williams became the second oldest player to appear in the women's singles draw at Wimbledon - and it appeared that time had caught up with the serial winner during her hiatus from the sport.

Without a partner for back-up, Williams was exposed in the baseline rallies during the opening set, unable and unwilling to race across and meet Joint's exceptional down-the-line winners.

However, after a rusty start, her level gradually started to improve and she battled resiliently to stick with Joint, twice recovering from a break down in the second set to force a tie-break.

And when Joint was presented with her first match point, Williams responded with a blistering forehand winner and a 120mph serve to turn her fortunes around and delight the Centre Court crowd with an extra set.

That battle came at a cost, however, and the former world number one could not keep pace with the American-born 20-year-old, who held her arms aloft after wrapping up her first-ever win at Wimbledon.

Tasked with beating one of the greatest players of all-time, Joint - who had lost 11 WTA Tour-level matches in a row - stepped up to the plate and produced her best performance of the season under nerve-wracking conditions.

"This court has had so many huge names that have played on it. She has so much aura, she is such a legend," Joint added.

"I have been dreaming about this since I was a little kid, so this is pretty crazy."

Speaking before Queen's, Williams said the main motivation for her comeback was the prospect of her two daughters watching her play.

Eight-year-old Olympia and Adira, who is almost three, were both in her players' box at the start of the match, along with sister Venus and Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian.

Williams will be back in action later this week when she joins up with Venus in the doubles. The pair - who won six titles together at Wimbledon - face Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra in the first round.