Much of the talk heading into this year’s Wimbledon surrounded the ‘Serena Slam’. Successive titles at the Australian and French Opens brought her tantalizingly close to Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 majors and just two shy of the all-time record set by Margaret Court.

For all her recent success, though, the World No.1 had not reached a Wimbledon final since seeing off Agnieszka Radwanska to lift the Venus Rosewater dish in 2012.

As has become custom, Williams and many of the game’s other leading players eschewed playing a tune-up event before Wimbledon, leaving the path clear for Belinda Bencic, Angelique Kerber, Ana Konjuh and Camila Giorgi to triumph in Eastbourne, Birmingham, Nottingham and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, respectively.

There were plenty of surprises at the All-England Club too, with a number of high-profile names, most notably defending champion Petra Kvitova, suffering premature exits. In the third round, Williams was a whisker away from suffering the same fate, calling on all her reserves of grit and determination to edge out home favorite Heather Watson, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

Just as she has on countless occasions, the American saved her best for the business end of the tournament, helping her through the gauntlet of sister Venus, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova and into an eighth Wimbledon final.

Here she faced someone appearing in their very first: Garbiñe Muguruza.

After early losses in Birmingham and Eastbourne, Muguruza was back to her best in SW19, staging a series of upsets culminating in an absorbing three-set battle with the WTA’s resident magician Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals.

The Spaniard began the final in irresistible form, striking winners with ease and pulling her foe to all corners of the court. Williams, though, possesses a competitive fire matched by few in the history of the game and by sheer force of will hauled herself back into the contest. Once she hit the front, there was only one winner, Williams prevailing, 6-4, 6-4, to move within touching distance of the clean sweep. Next stop: New York…