Serena Williams continues to be the dominant talking point, and she likely will for many weeks to come.
After all, her return to singles action after four years away from the sport has unsurprisingly captured the imagination, with fans swarming to witness this legendary comeback.
Sadly, it was not a winning return for the 23-time Grand Slam champion, who was beaten by Maya Joint across three enthralling sets.
Speaking afterwards, Brad Gilbert has delivered his verdict on the match, explaining what shocked him about Serena Williams’ play, and why he thinks the American might be annoyed with herself in the aftermath.
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Chatting with Nick Monroe on the Big T podcast, the coach, who has enjoyed spells alongside Coco Gauff and Andy Roddick across his sparkling career, began with some context.
Gilbert admitted: “Well, first of all, obviously, we know Maya Joint coming in was three [wins] and 14 [losses] on the season.
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“I actually thought that Serena might come out and play uber aggressive, because that’s what I heard she was doing in practice and kind of, like, really playing first-strike tennis. And I was surprised how conservative she came out, but maybe they were kind of thinking, well, let’s see what Maya Joint does, her first time out on centre court, how she handles her nerves.
“And I thought early on, those first couple of break points that she missed on, miss a couple of second serve returns, I think, really helped Maya Joint relax and take that first set.”
Gilbert felt like Joint had opportunities to put Williams to the sword and finish things off in the second, but then when the 44-year-old led by a break in the third, she failed to take her chance.
He admitted: “I think that Serena actually gave Maya a little help back, a couple of double faults, didn’t close out that game at 2-0, and that’s when Maya Joint played her best tennis, in that stretch.
“But if you’d asked me at the start, I actually thought that Serena was maybe gonna have to dial back, and I was very surprised how conservative she started out.”
With that break, Gilbert also argued that Joint looked ‘resigned to losing’, before Serena handed her a lifeline with a loose service game.
He added: “I think, you know, Serena would be annoyed with herself for kind of giving her that extra opportunity. After, in the middle of the second set, Joint was up a break two different times; it looked like she could have closed that thing out in straight sets.”
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Whilst Serena was criticised for snubbing her media duties, it has since been revealed by The Times that she did so because of a knee injury picked up during her loss to Joint.
Crutches were brought to the locker room, but she eventually left Wimbledon unaided. She now faces a late fitness battle ahead of her doubles with Venus Williams on Thursday.
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She has since taken to Instagram to offer an update to fans, writing: “It felt so good to be back on the grass at @wimbledon. I’m incredibly thankful for the wild card – and even more grateful my daughters got to see that it’s never too late to chase something you love.
“I tweaked my knee late in the first set, but I’ll be doing everything I can to be ready for doubles with @venuswilliams
“Congratulations to @maya.joint on a great match, and thank you to everyone who showed up and showed me so much love. That feeling will never get old.”
