Maya Joint is determined not to be defined by the Wimbledon Centre Court triumph that transfixed the sports world, vowing to use her famous victory over Serena Williams as a springboard for a career refresh.
While stars like Coco Gauff lavished the young Aussie with praise for defeating the 44-year-old legend amid all the suffocating hype surrounding her comeback, Joint was left frustrated she couldn't follow it up with a second-round loss to Filipino Alexandra Eala.
Yet after admitting the post-match hoopla had left her sleepless and undermined her preparations for the Eala contest, she was also adamant the Williams triumph wasn't a life-changing moment for her.
"No, I don't think so. It was another match," said the 20-year-old on Thursday night (Friday AEST), contemplating a crazy few days.
"And while I'll always, always have great memories of it, and be able to say that I beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon on Centre Court, which is pretty cool, I think if I harp on that match too long, or I only think about that match, then that will probably be my only achievement. So I need to move on.
"I think it'll give me some confidence, for sure. I felt it when winning the first set today, when I was going after my shots and making a lot of them. I was carrying that confidence into this match as well, and it'll give me a lot of confidence into my next matches."
There were moments as she took the first set in the 3-6 7-5 6-0 defeat when she resembled the player who had won two titles as a teenager last year, including a thrilling win on the Eastbourne grass over Eala.
"It felt nice to play like that again. I feel like that was kind of my level last year. I think I'm getting closer, and the first set showed that I'm still here," added the US-born daughter of former Melbourne squash pro Mick Joint who threw in her lot with Australian tennis after being unimpressed with the support offered in the US.
"The next step is just to sustain that level for longer."
Double grand slam winner Gauff was among those left deeply impressed by the Queenslander, saying: "Maya played really great tennis, like top-10, top-five tennis. Obviously she's a great player. I've never played her before, but she was close to top-20 before.
"She's a great competitor. She seems like an even, chill girl. I do think if anyone was ready for the moment, it would be her."
Even her second-round conqueror Eala admitted: "Maya's win over Serena was amazing. She played really well and handled herself really well in that situation."
