This Australian tennis star was so impressive, even John McEnroe was stunned

It was the dream, and it was the nightmare, all at once, for it was the same thing.

As Australia’s Maya Joint would recount, the dream of playing on centre court at Wimbledon against the best there ever was, had been with her since she was a little girl.

And now the reality: as a mere 20-year-old she is on centre court, up against the greatest woman champeen of all time, Serena Williams herself, who is sending down serves at just under 200 km/h and cross-court backhanders so scorching they could kill grass.

Joint had not won any of her past 11 matches, so what chance could she possibly be, particularly when just about the entire crowd – bar her mum and coaches, including Samantha Stosur – was against her?

As they walked on to court together, the Australian looked to have the rough proportions of Williams’ right leg. (And a great, athletic leg it is!) The difference in their size and obvious strength was extraordinary to behold.

But here is the thing I think went under-exulted. Joint barely blinked in her three-set win. As one who watched every ball of that match, I can confirm she was nothing less than extraordinary. Her poise! Her cross-court winners! Her refusal to take a single backward step when up against women’s sport’s answer to LeBron James, the GOAT! Our Maya – you heard me – simply took the game to Williams from the opening game, and made it clear that she was not intimidated.

In response, it has to be said, the American didn’t crack it for a smile the entire game. To the fans roaring for her, Williams gave just about nothing, right from the moment she arrived wearing headphones to block them out, to when she stalked off in defeat, after a brief wave.

Perhaps, in her defence, she really was discombobulated. To most commentators, Joint would have looked like fresh meat for the lioness of tennis to gobble up, before getting to the more challenging players a few rounds in.

And yet, here Williams was, being no less than humiliated by a young woman who was still four years away from being born when she had won the first of her seven Wimbledon titles.

My overall point, however, is Williams didn’t play badly. The American really was thumping down some tremendous serves, and unleashing amazing cross-court shots and drives down the line.

The problem was not her, it was that Joint was playing so fabulously, even John McEnroe was stunned.

She will go far, and is one to watch, even if she did go down in the second round to Alexandra Eala in three sets, after taking the first. Brava, Ms Joint.

Thommo slings back

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,
If Lillee don’t get ’em, Thommo must.

In the wake of the colossal success of last year’s Chappell Foundation dinner, featuring the great Dennis Lillee, who else could you get to be this year’s guest speaker, but … Jeff Thomson!

Dennis bowled ’em, Jeff bowled faster,
Join us for tales from the speed king master.

You get the drift. Younger readers, of course – you whipper-snapper 50-year-olds and worse – might be forgiven for not knowing a lot more of Thomson than just the name.

But back in the 1970s, he was the fastest bowler the world had seen. And he had a refreshingly unaffected way about him.

At a time when bowling styles were being endlessly analysed, imitated and improved by sports scientists, Thomson’s slingshot drew a lot of attention.

As one who had been a champion javelin thrower as a young’un, Thommo’s style never made the traditional coaching manual, even as a footnote. He’d run in with the fluent high-stepping stride of a Melbourne Cup winner until, just an instant before delivery, one leg goes behind the other in a move ballet dancers call “f—ing excruciating”.

He’d sway his torso back, hide the ball behind his right knee and then unleash the lot. It defied analysis and, in fact, even near defeated the great Fairfax cricket journalist Phil Derriman, who asked him to break it all down. “Talk me through it, Thommo. I want to know the technicalities of your delivery stride, your wrist release, your finger positions! Tell all.”

“Heck mate,” Thommo legendarily replied. “I just shuffle up and go whang.”

The Chappell Foundation’s ninth annual dinner will be held on Friday, July 31, at the SCG. Google and go.

Upsetting CTE cases

TFF has been carrying on for some time like a broken – world – record that football of all stripes is facing an epidemic of woe from footballers suffering from the degenerative brain disease CTE, and this week was a case in point.

The ABC’s Four Corners revealed that no fewer than 33 Australian rules football players, of whom 19 were professional or semi-professional, have been proven sufferers.

The figures were compiled by the Australian Sports Brain Bank – for which I’ve been an ambassador since inception – and are shattering. It blows away the notion that CTE was rare, and struck only those who’d had repeated concussions.

To that point, there had been just five cases of confirmed CTE sufferers. And now 33. Bear in mind that as CTE can only be diagnosed after death, these 33 are very likely the tiniest tip of a tragically last iceberg.

One particularly upsetting case was 23-year-old player Nick Lowden, who’d played since the juniors and had only one major concussion – albeit a bad one – before taking his life. His parents had never heard of CTE before their son was confirmed to have been a sufferer.

The response of the AFL to the ABC report was extraordinary, insisting they were doing enough to combat the condition, and it included the line from a spokesperson: “Our job is not to communicate every single aspect of risk that exists in our game.”

Pray tell, if it is not the AFL’s responsibility to communicate the risks associated with playing AFL, just whose responsibility is it?

And yet even this news is not the epidemic to which I referred. It is a harbinger, thereof. And on the legal front, of former footballers taking collective action against what they claim was negligence by not protecting them to known risks, watch this space – there is big news to come shortly.

You Baa-Baa beauty

Thank yers all for your kind correspondence regarding my time last week with the British Barbarians in London.

Yes, I did indeed love it, and it was an honour and a privilege to be around players of such calibre for such an occasion. The match at Twickenham was a beauty with Wales narrowly shading the Baa-Baas 33-31 with riveting play that regularly brought the crowd to its feet.

Undoubtedly, the man of the match was Baa-Baas captain and mighty Springbok half Faf de Klerk – completely recovered from the fabulous team dinner three nights before, where 26 players from 11 countries sang themselves hoarse – but the most moving moment came at the end of the game.

Two of the Baa-Baas, the great Welsh and Lions winger George North, and the Wallabies own Andrew Kellaway, had this match marked down as the last of their mighty careers before retirement.

They walked from the field together, side-by-side through a guard of honour formed by both teams applauding and shaking their hands, Kellaway hobbling from a leg injury sustained in the game, but smiling broadly.

What a game to finish on, and what an occasion!

Bravo, both. Great digs.

What they said

Australia’s Maya Joint on playing Serena Williams: “I don’t know what just happened. I didn’t get much sleep last night. I was up to 2am thinking about it. I have been dreaming of this moment since I was a little kid, so this is pretty crazy.”

Joint: “I knew she would have big serves, but I had to punch back, and show her that I’m not going to go away, and that I’m not scared of her, even though I was.”

France’s superstar, Kylian Mbappé on what he was looking forward to after the World Cup knock out match against Sweden: “I’m looking forward to the changing room and the AC.”

World tennis No.1 Aryna Sabalenka: “When you see me for the first time, you’re probably going to think that I’m a bitch because of my Slavic face. It doesn’t help with that. When I’m walking with this flat face and no emotions, I can look very aggressive. So I understand why some people think I’m a bitch. When you get to know me better you understand that it’s just something I was born with.”

Wallaby Tom Hooper: “That hand will be up until you drag me off the rugby field, really. My hand will always be up for Wallaby gold. Anytime I get the opportunity to pull on the threads, I’d be very privileged to.” RAH!

South Korean President, Lee Jae-myung, on the national side not getting out of the WC group stage: “I am not ⁠just taken aback by this unexpected outcome, I am utterly baffled. When loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence, and incompetent people are appointed to leadership positions, the outcome is all but inevitable. I offer my deepest apologies to the public for the profound disappointment caused.”

Paraguay’s president Santiago Pena declared a national holiday after the national team defeated the once mighty Germany: “It celebrates the victory of a team that represents the deepest part of our identity: the grit, the faith, and the strength of people who never give up. The government cannot remain indifferent to this tremendous achievement. It is necessary to facilitate the gathering of ⁠all Paraguayans in celebration of this historic day.”

Socceroo Lucas Herrington if being compared to a Rolls-Royce was the correct automotive metaphor: “I’m happy with Rolls-Royce.” New Rollers have been electric for three years, incidentally, and will be all electric by 2030.

Ben Stokes on announcing his retirement on the fourth day of a deciding Test against the Kiwis. “It might sound quite selfish but this decision is genuinely the best thing for me right now. I hope it’s the best thing for the team going forward …” Selfish doesn’t even begin to describe it. And the team lost.

Naomi Osaka on coming out to play Wimbledon wearing a kimono: “When I think about Wimbledon, it’s obviously the all white. There’s obviously the tradition of it all. In my head, when I think about that, I think about my cultures, my heritage, which is Japanese and Haitian.”

Sam Kennedy president of the Boston Red Sox, after Scottish soccer supporters turned up en masse at a baseball match: “We knew the Tartan Army was coming. We did not fully understand what that meant until we saw it. Hundreds of Scotland supporters gathered at the foot of a statue of Robert Burns in the Back Bay and marched all the way to Landowne Street to the sound of bagpipes. Kilts and Scottish flags filled our ballpark with a spirit that has no equivalent in American sport.”

Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey – whose career was stopped cold by accusations of sexual assault, none of which have been proven – to Bill Maher on the latter’s podcast: “If I had been a sports figure I would have been benched for seven games. If you’re hitting home runs, they want you on the field.”

Team of the Week

Socceroos. Have just played Egypt in the Round of 32. Hopefully, you’ll be having victory with your Vegemite toast.

Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth. On this, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, those four would be my choice as the worthies of sports Mount Rushmore. Tiger Woods on the reserves bench. Discuss.

Australian rowing team. Excelled in World Cup III in Lucerne that finished on Sunday. They won nine medals, including two gold, to finish third on the table.

Ethiopian women. At last week’s Diamond League Track and Field Meet in Doha, Ethiopians finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th. Kenyans finished 6th, 8th and 14th. A Spaniard finished 11th.

Australia. In tomorrow’s final of women’s T20 World Cup against England.

Lionel Messi. Scored in his last seven World Cup matches.

Melbourne Vixens and Adelaide Thunderbirds. Meet in Saturday’s Super Netball grand final.

Carlton. Still yet to lose under new coach, Josh Fraser!

Dan McKellar. Waratahs head coach fired. Next! On a bad day Michael Cheika can be barking mad, but appointing him on a shorter leash would make sense to me. The best rugby the Waratahs have played was under him in 2014.