But in the span of 12 days, Venus transformed herself from an error-prone player with more heart than skill to an unbeatable force, dispatching the world's second-, fifth- and sixth-ranked players in succession. In her news conference afterward, Williams was asked if it felt like two different tournaments: one in which she nearly lost to virtual unknowns, and one in which she toppled greats. No, she said.
From the moment Serena won the Australian Open as an unseeded player, Venus knew she could win Wimbledon regardless of her ranking, her seeding or the esteem in which she was or wasn't held by the sport's prognosticators. "As long as we're fit, we just have so much to give on the court," said Williams, 27. 1 Tracy Austin could scarcely believe the transformation.
"I think only the Williams sisters can do that -- where they can turn a switch on and kind of convince themselves to play with confidence," said Austin, now a commentator for the BBC. "No one else has ever played that distinctly different from one match to the next through a Grand Slam." If Williams had reason to draw confidence from Centre Court, Bartoli, the tournament's 18th seed, had none.
In seven years as a touring pro, the Frenchwoman had never advanced beyond the third round of a Grand Slam event. But like Williams, she gained momentum with each round, beating the tournament's third- and top-seeded players to earn her first championship berth. It had the makings of a rout from the moment they strode on court, each carrying the traditional floral spray bestowed upon the ladies finalists, with ball girls trailing behind carrying their racket bags.
Bartoli, 22, had never been treated so royally. The fortnight had been full of firsts, in fact. She had never walked on Centre Court before Friday's semifinal.
She had also never received flowers from a famous actor before. But there they were at her locker Saturday morning -- from Pierce Brosnan himself, whose presence at the semifinals spurred her upset of world No. And she dreamed of another first -- winning Wimbledon and dressing up in a beautiful gown to attend the Champion's Ball with the men's victor.
But reality intervened in the form of Williams' blistering strokes and booming serve. Williams served a love game to open the match and raced to a 3-0 start while Bartoli hopped in place, trying to relax her legs in the face on the onslaught. Bartoli dug in, though, and broke Williams serve to even the score at 3-3.
But Williams played better still, covering the court with her impossible reach and firing shots back at stunning pace. But in the span of 12 days, Venus transformed herself from an error-prone player with more heart than skill to an unbeatable force, dispatching the world's second-, fifth- and sixth-ranked players in succession.
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