On the eve of this final, Serena Williams was suffering so badly with flu that she considered pulling out. Twenty-four hours later, after putting her body and mind through the mill one more time, she emerged with a 20th grand slam title thanks to a 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2 victory over the Czech Lucie Safarova that, even by her standards, was remarkable.
The American is now two short of Steffi Graf, the open era leader, and four off Margaret Court, the all-time leader. Having won the Australian Open at the start of the year, Williams is also halfway to the coveted calendar year grand slam and, after winning here despite struggling with the flu for much of the second week, few would put it past her adding Wimbledon and the US Open to complete the set.