2005 Australian Open - Day #13
By Alix Ramsay  |  January 29, 2005

Most of the 15,000 people packed into the Rod Laver Arena will want to forget the Australian Open women's final and certainly Lindsay Davenport will not have it at the top of her list of most memorable afternoons. But for one, over-excited 23 year old, it was a moment to treasure. Serena Williams won her seventh grand slam title - and her first for 18 months - with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Davenport and she was absolutely delighted. It was a truly dreadful match but Williams did not care.

The victory had seemed like an impossible dream after the first game of the opening set. Lunging to reach a backhand, she felt something go in her back. From that moment on she could barely serve and moving to her forehand side brought groans of pain and frustration.

"Lindsay was killing me at the start," Williams said. "She was running me all over the court. I went to hit a backhand and I felt my back go out so I guess I'm not as young as I used to be. But I had some treatment, some manipulation, and it was fine after that."

As she tentatively tested her back and her confidence, the first set passed her by but, back in the thick of battle in the second set, the match turned on one marathon game. Serving at 2-2, Williams had to fend off six break points as Davenport tried to stamp her authority on the occasion. When she failed, she was never the same again and Williams was in with a chance.

"I just told myself that I was not losing this game," Williams said. "My arm was hurting so much because I kept having to serve and serve, but I didn't care if my arm fell off - I had to win that game. I thought, if I'm going to lose, I'm going to do it like I do in practise, by going forward and by being aggressive. After that I relaxed and it all came together."

A couple of games later, Davenport contrived to lose her serve from 40-0 and as Williams set off on a run of nine consecutive games, the result was never in doubt. Davenport's collapse was pitiful, but with retirement pencilled in for sooner rather than later and now happily married with plans to start a family, she did not seem to mind too much.

"I had that horrible lapse to lose my serve," Davenport said with little sign of emotion. "That opened the door for her and she kept coming through it. She's a great front runner. She took her opportunity and kept going."

As for Williams, it marked the end of a traumatic 18 months. Since she won Wimbledon in 2003, she has dealt with a series of major injuries, she has cope with the death of her half-sister, Yetunde, and she has been upstaged by the young Russians. Now, though, she is back and she is talking as if she means business.

"It's been a long way coming back," Williams said. "I'm almost to goal of No1 now and this grand slam win feels great for me. It also makes it all the sweeter after people have been saying we are declining. I've always considered myself to be the best, the top.

"People are always saying 'what's wrong with the Williams sisters'. There's nothing wrong with us. We're coming back. It's not easy to come back from surgery and injuries and win the next tournament. I don't understand why people are always pointing the finger at us.

"I didn't have the preparation I wanted coming into this event but I still won. If I can put in that effort then I can definitely be No1."

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