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Serena Williams left no doubt she is back to her old dominant self again.
Williams was twice crowned a champion at Wimbledon on Saturday. The first time came when she won her fifth Wimbledon women’s singles title with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Agnieszka Radwanska. Then (later in the day) Williams teamed with her older sister Venus to capture the women’s doubles title with a victory over Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-5, 6-4.
For the sixth seeded Williams, that is her 14th career grand slam singles title. It is also her 13th major doubles crown with Venus. Both sisters have five singles titles at the All England Club now. Serena or Venus has been the women’s singles winner at Wimbledon 10 out of the last 13 years.
It is an incredible journey back to the top for Williams. A series of health problems kept her in and out of hospitals and away from professional tennis for 10 months. When she came back, Williams had trouble regaining her form. A fourth round loss at Wimbledon in 2011 sent her tumbling down to a no. 175 world ranking.
For lesser players – such a tumble would spell the end of their career. Williams embraced the challenge of working hard to return to the top.

Serena Williams.

Under the requisite conflicted British sky, a summer’s brew of dark clouds, showers, and taunting bits of blue, Serena Williams on Saturday wavered much like the weather but ultimately proved right as rain, overcoming a second-set stumble to capture her fifth Wimbledon title, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, over rising Polish star Agnieszka Radwanska.
Her trademark service game spotty but also at times incredible, including a dazzling string of four aces early in the third set, Williams won for the first time here since 2010 and equaled the five Venus Rosewater plates won by her sister, Venus, from 2000-08.
Ebullient in triumph, and hugging the All England Club’s shimmering dish like a favorite stuffed animal, Williams told the sellout crowd at Centre Court: “I always wanted everything Venus had.”
For the most part, Radwanska, at 23 seven years Williams’s junior, made it easy on the game’s most dominating female force. Hindered by a cold and sniffles in recent days, a jittery Radwanska opened with a weak, timid performance, leading her to lose nine of the first 11 games. It was her first time in a Grand Slam final and the unfortunate combination of nerves and a summer bug robbed her of her best.
“I am still shaking so much” – she said moments after the match ended, noting that the fortnight had been the best weeks of her life. “I didn’t play good, but I was happy to be here in the final . . . I think it was not my day. I will try next year.”
Later, Radwanska added that nerves had been her greatest initial enemy. But when rain forced a 22-minute delay between the first and second sets, it was a more assured, calmer Radwanska who emerged from the dressing room.
“Yes, for sure, the break was good for me” – she said. “When I came out the second time, I felt it was like a normal match.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKjLOi_XMZo

The first set of the final was completely one-sided as Williams won the first five games. After her slump in the second, she won the last five games of the match as well to set off a tear-filled celebration. She climbed into the player’s box to hug her whole family, and used her victory speech to thank her sisters and parents for helping her get through her troubles.
A few hours later, she was back on Centre Court to win a fifth doubles title together with sister Venus.
“She’s such a fighter, you never say die” – Venus Williams said. “Positivity really brought her a long way in that. I don’t think either of us believe that we can be defeated by anything. Nothing has defeated us yet, so we’re going to keep that track record.”
Williams is the first woman in her 30s to win a Wimbledon title since Martina Navratilova, who won at the All England Club in 1990 when she was 33.
But age hasn’t slowed her down so far. And if she stays healthy, Williams could soon match Navratilova’s total of 18 Grand Slam titles as well. Or why not the 22 that Steffi Graf won?
Williams isn’t setting any targets, though.
“I just think, the next one. If that doesn’t work out, the next one” – Williams said. “Even when I started I never had a number in mind. I remember when I reached eight, I was like ‘Oh my god, I have eight Grand Slams, how did this happen?’ And now I have 14, which is unbelievable. I’m happy that I’m no longer saying 13.”
So after all this, what else does she want to win?
“Are you kidding?” she said. “The U.S. Open, the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon 2013.”
If she stays healthy, it all looks within reach.