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Bartoli Vs Williams - 2007 Ladies' Final
Marion Bartoli (FRA) v Venus Williams (USA)

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Venus Williams had been victorious in just one of the seven tournaments she had played in 2007 before Wimbledon. Yet the No 23 seed was crowned women?s singles champion for the fourth time after a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli.

Bartoli was another surprise package. She had stunned the tennis world with her semi-final victory over world No1 and top seed Justine Henin.

The Centre Court crowd was certainly behind Bartoli - perhaps they feared a walkover. That this did not happen was due to a combination of Bartoli's dogged determination to give no ground to such famous opposition and to the fact that Venus had one of her less accurate days.

Venus may not have been on top of her game, but it was still too powerful for Bartoli. She was never truly tested in taking her sixth grand slam 6-4, 6-1 in 90 minutes.

Her achievement was also remarkable in that, seeded 23, she was the lowest seed to win the title since seeding was introduced, a distinction she already held by winning her third title when ranked 14th two years ago.

She collected 700,000 Pounds for her one-hour-and-thirty-minutes victory - the first year of equal prize money for men and women at Wimbledon - but her delight at the end showed that the money meant little to this millionairess whose prospects of another title here had been largely discounted.