US Open 2014 Women's Final: Serena Williams Proves No. 1 Status with Win

Serena Williams dominated Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3 to win her 18th major title and sixth U.S. Open on Sunday. After a 2014 Grand Slam season that saw Williams come up small, she proved she has plenty of fortitude left in her continued pursuit of history.

Sunday was a reminder of who the woman to beat is in professional tennis. ESPN Stats & Info highlighted the historical significance of Williams' latest major triumph:

With such a remarkable career resume, Williams has little else to prove. A rather easy draw filled with upsets at Flushing Meadows aided her efforts to get out of her funk at the biggest tournaments of the year, capped by the No. 10 seed Wozniacki playing her in the final. However, Williams still stepped up and played her best tennis throughout the tournament.

Christopher Clarey of The New York Times noted Williams' exceptional scores in laying waste to any opponent in her path:

Not losing more than three games in a set is a remarkable achievement for any event, much less one of the four most prestigious ones. That's how sensational Williams is capable of being when she's on.

But before her trip to the Big Apple, Williams had disappointed at the Australian and French Opens, making the fourth and second rounds respectively. Then at Wimbledon, she again didn't live up to the hype after being bounced in the third round.

ESPN's Chris Fowler praised Williams for bouncing back in Flushing and added another keen observation:

The titles may not be coming as easy as they once were for Williams, which might actually be the best thing that could happen to her as she nears the end of her days on the court. At age 32, an athlete of Williams' caliber has a longer back end to her career than the average player, thanks to her immense strength and raw talent.

Before Williams defeated Wozniacki on Sunday, tennis legend Billie Jean King weighed in on Williams, per The Telegraph's Simon Briggs:

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She’s right near the top, that’s for sure. I expect her to get to 18 major titles here and tie with Chris [Evert] and Martina [Navratilova], and after that the next goal will be Steffi Graf on 22. I can imagine her doing that. I told her years ago that I was only on 12. I said "If you don’t do a lot better than 12 I will be upset with you because you could be the best ever."

How long can she go on for? It’s down to whether she wants to pay the price or not. I played until 40. She hasn’t had major operations which is what I look at. She is a phenomenal athlete. She gets a lot of free points on her serve and that’s a major factor. Both Serena and Venus go in and out [in their commitment to tennis], because they have other interests, but lately they are in because they [realize] they are getting older and time is starting to run out.

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Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch believes Williams is in the same sentence as Steffi Graf when it comes to the best women's tennis players of all time:

Williams is just four majors away from Graf's mark of 22, which ranks second in history. There is reason to believe Williams can get there, because she still has a number of good years left. Her sensational form at the U.S. Open, where she proved capable of overpowering anyone, emphatically dismissed any notion that Williams is waning as of 2014.

Extraordinary court coverage combined with booming groundstrokes and an intimidating serve will carry Williams even when her skills start to diminish. If the will to win is still there—and it should be for someone as competitive and as self-critical as Williams—there's no reason she can't achieve far more.

The U.S. Open offered evidence that Williams isn't physically or mentally ready to shut it down. Far from it. Williams can use the momentum of this magnificent showcase to vault into 2015 with renewed confidence.

She hadn't played the part of prohibitive favorite well all season long. Then before anyone could truly write Williams off, she responded with a run for the ages at Flushing Meadows. Going back to the hard-court surface for the Australian Open is bad news for the rest of Williams' peers.

If she emulates the form she showed at the 2014 U.S. Open, a second straight Grand Slam title is likely on the horizon for the true No. 1 in women's tennis.