London: Maya Joint was about to walk into an appointment with her sports psychologist at Wimbledon on Friday morning when her coach broke the news to her that she was playing Serena Williams.
The 20-year-old Australian’s day, week, fortnight, and maybe her life, changed instantly, even though it took her coach, Chris Mahony, showing her a text message from Sam Stosur before she realised he was telling the truth.
That was, in part, because Williams – a 23-time grand slam champion and former world No.1, who is back playing almost four years since her last singles match – had become effectively a mythical figure in Joint’s mind.
She has never seen Williams in person, and might not until they walk out to play each other on Tuesday, almost certainly on Wimbledon’s hallowed centre court, in what will easily be the biggest match of Joint’s career. The American legend is 44 and a mother-of-two these days, but Joint is preparing for the best of her.
“I never thought I’d actually play her,” Joint told this masthead. “She feels, like, not real – just a legend of the game – and then she stopped playing when I went on tour.”
The similarities between them start and end with both being tennis players who were born in Michigan. Williams won her maiden grand slam singles title at the 1999 US Open, almost seven years before Joint was even born.
Growing up playing tennis in the United States with a Melbourne-born father, Joint naturally idolised Williams. However, it was another former world No.1, Simona Halep, who she more naturally gravitated to because she saw more of herself in the Romanian.
“[Halep] was a bit smaller, kind of my height,” Joint said.
“She didn’t have a huge serve that would win her points. She was fast. She fought. I wanted to emulate her because I could see more similarities.”
Joint recalls as a kid watching the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, duking it out in grand slam finals.
Now, she and Mahony are plotting how to spoil Williams’ singles comeback, in the American’s first match since losing to another Australian, Ajla Tomljanovic, in the third round at the 2022 US Open. Joint said she would watch vision of Williams from back then as preparation.
No one, let alone Joint, properly knows what to expect from Williams, but she is banking on the American still blasting big serves and forehands, which, particularly on grass, will make her dangerous.
“I’ve always dreamed about playing Serena Williams, and if you told me 10 years ago that I’d be playing her first round at Wimbledon, that’s just crazy,” Joint said.
“I have so much respect for her, and she was one of my idols growing up, and I’m really excited to have the opportunity to play against her. Serena is still an amazing player, so it’s going to be a difficult match, but I also think that I have a chance to win.”
Joint has endured a challenging season so far after slashing her ranking by about 650 spots across the previous two years to be seeded at the Australian Open.
She lost 10 straight matches after reaching the quarter-finals in Adelaide in January, missed two months with a disc-related back injury, and even questioned at her lowest ebb whether she should even be playing.
Joint will slip from being the top-ranked Australian woman to the fourth when Wimbledon begins on Monday, but feels she has turned the corner.
A victory over Williams could be just the tonic for a resurgence in the second half of this year.
Stosur, who famously upset Williams in the 2011 US Open final, has been a strong source of support for Joint during her prolonged struggles. The former world No.4 gives Joint a red-hot chance of beating Williams in a few days, too.
“She’s not the first player to have a breakout year [then struggle the next],” Stosur said.
“Everyone’s been through it. Serena’s been through it. Everyone’s been through tough times in their career, and she’ll bounce back, whether that’s this week or next week, or in a month’s time.
“We’re all talking about Maya, but you can’t tell me Serena’s not going to be nervous.”
Tomljanovic also fancies Joint’s chances. She even gave her a pep talk, as Joint described it, not long after the Wimbledon draw came out, saying exactly that.
Joint is appreciative of the support, particularly because she knows there won’t be much of it once the match starts. But her relaxed mindset was apparent when asked about how she would handle most of the crowd being against her.
“Really? Not for me? What?” Joint joked.
“I’ve played Madison Keys on Arthur Ashe, so I’ve experienced something similar before. But I think this is going to be completely different. I hope there’s a couple of people in the crowd for me, and maybe I can win a couple of people over, but I think it’s just part of the experience.”
Maya v Serena: What the other Aussies thought
Kim Birrell: “It’s obviously tricky because Maya has a lot of eyes on her now because of who she’s playing, but it’s a really cool opportunity for her. She’s probably going to play on a big court, which she’s never done here.”
Rinky Hijikata: “What an opportunity for her. It’s going to be a hell of a match for her, a hell of an experience, playing maybe the greatest women’s player of all time. I’m sure she’s going to enjoy it. I’m excited for her.”
Aleks Vukic: “If you would have told anyone they were playing Serena, it’s kind of crazy and special, so for her, also because she’s so young, it would be such a cool experience. At the end of your career, [to say] you have played Serena at Wimbledon – it’s kind of sick. No matter what happens, anyone would take it.”
Talia Gibson: “I think it’s a very challenging match, for many reasons, but it’s an amazing opportunity … she’s the greatest champion on the women’s side. It’s not every day you get to play Serena Williams.”
Ajla Tomljanovic: “I’m excited. It’s going to be such a fun experience for Maya. It’s an interesting match-up, where I feel like Maya can go into it feeling like she has nothing to lose and so much to gain, but at the same time, there’s that true belief that she can win.”
Watch Wimbledon from 7.30pm Monday (AEST) on the Nine Network and Stan Sport.
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