Serena Williams: The powerhouse of women's tennis

Serena Williams entered the French Open final against Maria Sharapova with the astounding record of having defeated the Russian 12 times in-a-row. On Saturday, the American made it 13-in-a-row as Serena secured a 6-4, 6-4 to win the French Open 2013 women's singles title. She also became the fourth woman to win all Grand Slams at least twice (Open era).

Serena may not have enjoyed flawless form at the Roland Garros over the last two weeks but it was clear from Saturday's play that she had reserved her best for the summit clash. While she was challenged and tested by her Russian opponent, the 31-year-old brought all her experience to fend off the threats.

Of course, this rich stock of experience has helped Serena several times before as well.

Youngest of five daughters, Serena's tennis-playing days began when she was nine. Elder sister Venus was also a constant source of inspiration. While she had begun training at an academy, her father soon puller her out and took the role of over-all mentor and coach.

Considered as a player with one of the deadliest serves, Serena quickly displayed her enormous talents. While her professional debut came in 1995, when she was 14, it was when she defeated World No. 7 Mary Pearce and World No. 4 Monica Seles in the same tournament that the world stood up and took note.

She built on her successes and breached the top-10 WTA rankings at No. 9. In fact, she had an astounding 16-match winning streak which was ended by Venus at the Lipton International Players Championships. This was also the first all-sister WTA final!

As with most success stories, Serena's ascent was also marked by controversies and injuries. One of the most talked about incident involving her was when Serena screamed at a lineswoman and gestured at her with a racquet while playing against Kim Clijsters (2009, US Open).

Then again, it is the passion with which she plays the game that has defined who Serena has been over a period of more than a decade. Not surprising then that despite career-threatening injuries, she has staged miraculous comebacks.

Off the court, Serena has been quite a winner too. While she was rumoured to be dating Gregor Dimitrov - who is currently in a relationship with Maria Sharapova, her current status is unknown. With a long list of commercial endorsements however, it is quite clear that Serena has a busy schedule, balancing her life on and off the tennis court.