The younger of the Williams sisters did not drop a set during the entire fortnight at Flushing Meadows and closed out 6-4, 7-5 against Jelena Jankovic in the final during the early hours on Monday.

But the significance of this ninth Grand Slam victory was in the detail of where she has been since she last held the No1 spot in August 2003.

Williams has suffered repeated knee injuries since losing bragging rights to Kim Clijsters five years ago. But she has also battled with issues regarding her weight, motivation and focus, as her ranking slipped outside the top 125 and she took time away from the game.

But after taking a third US Open crown – and with it that world No1 spot – Williams revealed that she feels as hungry as ever.

“The title is the main thing for me but No1 is a bonus,” she said. “But it has been so long that it feels kind of weird. 

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