Better Than All The Rest

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Serena Williams of the US poses with her trophy after beating her Venus Williams in the WTA Championships final tennis match at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha on November 1, 2009. Serena won her second career WTA Championships title with a commanding 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over sister Venus, a triumph which earned her a cool $1.55 million for $6.19 million total earnings in a calendar year, a new WTA record.

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Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships 2009 Champion. A full eight years after she first hoisted the trophy. The first time she prevailed in the round robin format.

Sometimes controversy brings out the best in an athlete. With Serena, it extracts the very best. Despite her body, you could see Serena wanted to plow through the field undefeated and let everybody, fans and anti-fans alike, know that she wasn't going to let anything keep her down.

After victory,
that look of pained relief.
Mind over matter.

Sheer force of indomitable
will. And all that talent
to back it up.

Serena the Great.

"It's your world," said the man who interviewed the finalists during the trophy presentation, "and we're just all a part of it."

That about sums it up.