Serena Williams’ greatness is in her ability to rise from despair to dominance, repeatedly

As Serena Williams lay sprawled on the Centre Court grass at SW 19, flashes of her career rushed through my mind, producing a collage of courage, perseverance, and most importantly resilience. It is an 18-year journey, spanning three decades of toil and work that took Serena from dominance to depression and back. Serena’s greatness rests on the fact that she is able to plumb the depths of darkness before rising to utter dominance, repeatedly, at her own will.

When she held aloft the Venus Rosewater Dish for a seventh time in her career, the winner of a record equaling 22 Grand Slam titles, it was easy to forget that the woman at the centre of the tennis universe was so close to throwing it all away just a few years ago.

Six summers into the past, Serena’s life unraveled without warning. She had just won her 13th major at Wimbledon in 2010 before a freak incident forced her into a lengthy hibernation. She had to undergo surgery to repair her foot after stepping on a broken piece of glass in a Munich restaurant. One thing led to another and Serena was later diagnosed with hematoma and pulmonary embolism. It took another procedure to remove a clot in her lungs, and nearly a year away from tennis to rehabilitate her body.

When she returned in 2011 to defend her Wimbledon crown, an inspired Marion Bartoli upended her in the quarterfinal. The great American’s ranking dropped to 169 in the world.

‘‘I definitely have not been happy,’’ admitted Williams. “Especially when I had that second (foot) surgery, I was definitely depressed. I cried all the time. I was miserable to be around.’’ Serena did reach the finals of the US Open, but suffered early exits in the Australian and French Opens in 2012.

Feeling listless and disoriented, Serena stumbled into Patrick Mouratoglou after her first round exit in Paris. “I want you to help me win one last one,” said Serena, desperate to reconnect with the winner that resides permanently inside her soul.

Mouratoglou asked of Serena an unflinching work ethic and self-belief. With Serena stuck on 13 titles at the time, the open era peak of 22 grand slam trophies seemed out of sight. Incredibly though, the duo have combined to accumulate nine Grand Slam titles in just four years.

Nearly 35, Serena looks in complete control of her own destiny, showing no signs of bowing to the diktats of time. It is a far cry from a woman who was making the news for her infamous outbursts at linewomen and chair umpires, in 2010 and 2011.

She seems as fit as a twenty year old with a steely focus and determination that intimidates her opponents into meek submission. It took her three big losses to deal with the pressure of expectation that came from the desire to emulate Steffi Graf’s record of 22 majors.

“It has been incredibly difficult not to think about it,” said a relieved Serena. “I’ve had sleepless nights if I’m just honest, with a lot of stuff … coming so close, feeling it, not being able to get quite there. It was getting down to the pressure.

“And I’ve tried a couple of times and failed so that makes this victory even more sweeter - knowing how hard I have to work for it.”

The journey has indeed been a long and arduous one. Marked for greatness very early in her life, her parents Richard and Oracene Williams taught Serena to accept nothing but victory every time she stepped on court.

Since bursting onto international prominence at the US Open in 1999, as a precocious 17-year-old girl, Serena has seen success and upheaval in equal measure. Her phoenix-like rising this decade isn’t even the first resurrection of her glittering career.

Serena survived a dalliance with darkness even at the height of her powers, in the immediate aftermath of the first Serena Slam in 2002-03. She had overturned a 1-5 deficit in the final set of the Australian Open to accomplish the feat, before going on to add another Wimbledon to her collection.

The subsequent surgery on the quadriceps tendon in her knee laid her low for eight months. When she returned to tour, she was subject to constant questions about her inconsistent results at the time and her motivation.

Things came to a head in 2006, when Williams suffered a third round defeat to Daniela Hantuchova at the Australian Open. She was dealing with depression at the time and went away from the tour for a six-month period.

Serena was ranked 139th in the lead up to the US Open, needing a wild card to enter the tournament. Even though she made a fourth round exit in New York, the American was intent on working back her way to the top.

She was overweight and clearly lacking in fitness. That did not prevent Serena from thrashing Maria Sharapova in the 2007 Australian Open for her eighth Grand Slam title. It was the end of a lengthy two-year title drought that started just after she won in Melbourne in 2005.

If you were to break her mammoth career into three phases, each in isolation might be more than adequate to offer the scent of greatness to any other player in a pair of tennis shoes, three times over. Williams has been a colossal giant and it is time we give the lady her due.

Serena’s accomplishments also need to be seen through the prism of her background. Rising from the modest surroundings in Compton, California – Serena has endured her share of racist ridicule to tower over the tennis world with single-minded dedication.

Through her quest, as interrupted as it has been, Serena has pushed the envelope farther than any woman in tennis. In falling and recovering, far too often, Serena has allowed us a peek into human fallibility.

But more importantly, she has taught us through her work that nothing is beyond impossible if we could set our mind to it. And then follow up by doing the hard work needed to cover the difficult miles.

As she writes the final chapter of her great career, Serena is stretching the definition of greatness in tennis. The intensity in her eyes and the agility of her legs betray her advancing years.

Only time will tell when and where Serena might leave the sport at the end of her stratospheric voyage into the unknown. We can only behold her greatness and gasp in awe at her ability to redefine excellence in modern tennis.