Even Though She Was Unseeded, She Won The 2007 Australian Open

Serena Williams' career declined from 2004 to 2007, following a good start due to injuries and other factors. Serena had missed five of the previous 13 major championship matches before she entered the 2007 Australian Open, and she was ranked outside of the top 100. Williams was under a lot of pressure to do well. She was two points away from losing her match against Nadia Petrova in the third round of the competition. She, on the other hand, rallied back to win in three sets. Serena faced up against Maria Sharapova in the tournament's final, with the latter being the press and pundits' favorite to win.

But Serena destroyed Sharapova in the championship match, winning 6–1, 6–2 with just three games lost. Her last effort was dubbed "one of the finest performances of her career" and "probably the most powerful exhibition ever witnessed in women's tennis" by the press. Serena Williams became the first unseeded player to win the Australian Open since Christine O'Neil did so in 1978.