Mighty Twelve

Crazy: The pre-match brouhaha was ubiquitous: mighty serve vs. cunning backhand, physical prowess vs. mental virtuosity, David vs. Goliath. There’s a host more but they are all inconsequential now as Serena fashionably cinched her dominance in women’s tennis and silenced her naysayers. Crazy, crazier, craziest: only Serena Williams is capable of defying and symbolizing superlatives after superlatives.

Crazier: Winning her 12th Grand Slam title, Serena, heavily wrapped around with bandages and straps, had once again cemented her rights to be called as one of tennis greats. Winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, the American hardly broke a sweat as she outsliced, outclassed and outserved Henin denying the latter of a fairytale comeback after nearly twenty months of hiatus. Though the match lacked passages of play, it was special as it was the first time that the rivals have met in a Grand Slam final.

The Williams-Henin rivalry has all the makings of a classic. The differences are stark: While a larger-than-life Serena rests heavily on her powerful serve, cracking big forehands and mental impetus, the relatively short Belgian relies on her potent backhands and her stoutness for long rallies. Either way, their A-games combined put all the wannabee Russians to utter shame! (Whatever happened to Maria Sharapova and her banana?)

Craziest: A week ago, Serena was not supposed to win the crown. She was a set and 4-0 down against a willful Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the quarterfinals and was pushed exceedingly by Na Li of China in the semifinals. But as the books dictate, never count out an injured Serena! She’s like an animal – even more dangerous when wounded and Justine happened to be the pitiful prey.

Sheer power, mental edge, animal instinct, and Hollywood-esque charisma make Serena truly special. Forget the sporadic outbursts, quell the off-court passions, forgive the outrageous fashion mantra, Serena is the Queen of Tennis - a kind of player that rarely comes into the scene. Her athletic clock is ticking but at 28, there’s no sign of degeneration yet and yes, the domination continues!