



''I just remember, I was on the couch and I didn't leave the whole day, for two days. I was just over it. I was praying, like, 'I can't take any more. I've endured enough. Let me be able to get through this,''' recalled Williams, a former No. 1 whose ranking slid to 175th after a fourth-round loss at the All England Club last year, her second tournament back.

''Coming here and winning today is amazing,'' she said. ''It's been an unbelievable journey for me.''

Certainly has.


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''She hasn't had an easy road. Things have happened in her life that you can't predict or control, so it's hard to be in that situation. Things happen that you didn't deserve,'' said Venus, who is dealing with an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue. ''For her to fight through that and come back and be a champion. ... It was definitely emotional.''


''That made her realize where her life was, really, and where she really belonged and that she really loved the game,'' said Williams' mother, Oracene Price. ''You never appreciate anything until you almost lose it.''


''So many aces,'' said Radwanska, whose two-week total was 16, ''and I couldn't do much about it.''



Williams was playing in her 18th major final; Radwanska in her first. Actually, she'd never won a match beyond the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament until this week. So she acknowledged being ''a little bit nervous in the beginning.''

But the interruption let her ''cool down a little bit,'' explained Radwanska, who would have risen to No. 1 in the rankings by beating Williams but instead will be No. 2, behind Victoria Azarenka. ''When I was going on the court the second time, I just felt like a normal match. Didn't seem like a final anymore, so there was not that much pressure.''


''She got a little nervous out there, in my opinion. In the second set, I think she might have thought, 'Well, I got this here,''' said Williams' father, Richard.


Williams' explanation for her dip against Radwanska?