Serena Williams wins Wimbledon 2012; 14 Grand Slam title

Exactly two years ago in July 2010, Serena Williams was no. 1 in the world and recently won her 13th Grand Slam title in the Championships at Wimbledon. Earlier in the year, she won her 12th Slam by taking the Australian Open title in January. But, things unraveled fast and because of a freak accident and an emergency hospitalization, Serena would be out and away from the WTA tour for 11 months. Then, she started her comeback. In last year's Wimbledon, the usually steely Serena poured her out when she cried on court during her first round match. It was her first Grand Slam in a year, and though she failed to make the quarterfinal round, her comeback has started.

In the summer of 2011, Serena was on a rampage racking up wins in two US Open tune-ups and beating six opponents to reach the US Open final. She was the heavy favorite against Samantha Stosur in the final, but somehow, the Australian brought out her best game at the right time to win her first ever Grand Slam title. Serena would not play in another tournament for the year, and she surfaced back at the Australian Open in January failing to make a dent by quietly being eliminated in the fourth round.

Serena played Miami, a favorite tournament for the American and a place where she has been successful in the past. She went out in the quarterfinals to Caroline Wozniacki - a player she has never lost to prior to their encounter. Then came this spring's clay court season. Serena racked 17 straight wins and won two clay court tournaments becoming the prohibitive favorite to win her second French Open title. She however went out spectacularly, suffering her worst Grand Slam result ever, in a first round upset by Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano. It was considered one of the more shocking results in both ATP and WTA tennis tours in recent memory.

When Wimbledon came, all eyes were on the current world no. 1 - Maria Sharapova - who won her first Grand Slam title in Roland Garros to complete a career Grand Slam. Serena was certainly considered a favorite, but in the earlier rounds, she struggled big time against lower ranked opponents in the third and fourth rounds, losing a set in each match. But, as Serena has done through the years, she elevated her game in the final stages of the Grand Slam. She beat defending champion Petra Kvitova and world no. 2 Victoria Azarenka in back-to-back straight set victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Again, she reached the Wimbledon final as a top favorite to win her fifth Wimbledon title - she was after all facing a first time major finalist in world no. 3 Agnieszka Radwanksa, a player known for her consistency more than her grass court game.

So, when Serena won the first set 6-1 in just over 30 minutes and went up 4-2 in the second set, the whole tennis world expected Serena to wrap up the championship quickly. But, Radwanska had other ideas. Serena displayed a mental lapse that is somehow rare at this stage of this Grand Slam and before the audience knew it, Radwanska had battled back by winning the second set 7-5 and holding a 2-1 lead in the third set. Not to be unfazed, Serena replied with a service game of four aces and that allowed her to relax a bit. She would then win the next three games to wrap up her fifth Wimbledon crown and 14th Grand Slam title. And, she goes home with the top singles prize of £1,150,000. Congratulations and well done to Serena.