Serena Williams has her sights set on regaining the world number one ranking after staging a miraculous comeback to beat Lindsay Davenport 2-6 6-3 6-0 in the Australian Open final.
The younger Williams sister looked certain to lose after throwing her back out and damaging a rib during the opening set of the all-American final, restricting her ability to move and serve at full speed. Trailing 4-1, the 23-year-old was in severe pain and many others might have been tempted to quit but Williams is clearly made of sterner stuff.
She called an injury break, told the trainer to snap her back into place and promptly bounded back on court to run away with the match. "I never, ever think that I have to give up, even in the most dire situations," Williams said.
As remarkable as her comeback was, it was still no real surprise to see Williams win. Two years ago when she won her first Australian Open to complete her grand slam collection, she saved two match points in a semi-final against Kim Clijsters. History repeated itself when she saved three match points in her semi-final win over Maria Sharapova.
Her latest comeback gave Williams a seventh grand slam title and first since Wimbledon in 2003, removing any lingering doubts her power game might have been in decline. She slipped to seventh in the world rankings but has climbed back to second after winning in Australia. Her next target is to take the top spot from Davenport.
"I'm almost to my goal and it feels great," she said. "I've always considered myself the best and the top. I never considered that I was out of it."
Despite finishing last season ranked number one, Davenport has not won a grand slam since the 2000 Australian Open and is desperate to win another before hanging up her racket. The 28-year-old Californian also finished runner-up in this year's doubles and admitted that fatigue had played a major part in her loss to Williams. "It was definitely physical. My body's definitely a little bit worn down," she said.
The women's final was also the perfect appetiser for Sunday's centenary men's final between local hero Lleyton Hewitt and Russian Marat Safin.