In one of the strangest, split-personality Grand Slam women's tennis finals, Serena Williams overwhelmed world No 1 Lindsay Davenport in the Australian Open final - after appearing to be overwhelmed herself.
Some were calling it one of the greatest comebacks of recent times but the match appeared to hinge aroundWilliams' injured back.
After winning the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, Williams said that injury had nearly unseated her this year - as she damaged her back in the very first game of the match.
Davenport took advantage of Williams' inability to serve at top pace and raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Williams was casting mournful glances at her support crew and, at 4-1, called time out to receive attention at courtside and then later in the pavilion.
Davenport took the first set but the 23-year-old Williams started to loosen up as her lower back injury freed her from its grip.
She gamely held off six break points in the fifth game of the second set before slamming a service winner to hold for 3-2 in what was a huge turning point.
"I kept thinking to myself 'I'm not losing this game, I don't care if my arm falls off.' And I guess that's what happened," Williams said."I didn't want to lose that particular game because it would have given her momentum, and confidence."
Williams then earned her first service break in the eighth game of the second set and Davenport became increasingly tentative as Williams' big serves returned and the tall, 28-year-old American fell to bits in the final set as a newly confident Williams coasted home 6-0 for her seventh Grand Slam title.
Williams has struggled through a difficult period which has included an eight-month lay-off after knee surgery, the death of one of her elder sisters and the separation of her parents.
She said enduring such a bleak period had made her stronger and that she refused to give in, even when she hurt her back in the very first game of the match.
" I was running for a ball on my backhand and my back went out. I'm not as young as I used to be," the 23-year-old smiled.
A disappointed Davenport congratulated Williams on her comeback win, a first at this level since Wimbledon 2003. "She's had a tough couple of years and has come back like the champion she is," Davenport said. "I hope to see you again," she added.
