Serena Williams tops Jankovic to earn third U.S. Open title, No. 1 ranking

NEW YORK -- Serena Williams flung her racket straight up and jumped for joy, hopping and skipping and screaming and generally looking like someone who had just won her first U.S. Open title or earned her debut at No. 1 in the rankings.

Nope.

Serena Williams struggles at times, but her 44-15 advantage in winners sees her through. (Getty Images)

Displaying the talent and tenacity that helped her dominate tennis earlier in the decade, Williams outlasted Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday night in a thrill-a-minute match chock full of marvelous strokes and momentum swings to win her third U.S. Open championship and ninth Grand Slam title.

And there was this "added bonus," as Williams termed it: She returns to the top of the rankings.

As the women met at the net afterward, Williams felt compelled to say to Jankovic, "I'm sorry I got so excited."

No apology necessary.

Four times a single point from heading to a third set, Williams was simply relentless. She took the final four games and took the title without dropping a set. The closest she came to losing one? In the quarterfinals, when she beat older sister Venus in two tiebreakers.

On this night, Venus was in the guest box, cheering for Kid Sis.

"Serena was a better player tonight," Jankovic said. "She was just too good tonight."

It was Williams' first triumph at Flushing Meadows since 2002, and it guaranteed that the American will lead the rankings Monday for the first time since August 2003 -- the longest gap between stints at No. 1 for a woman.

Her previous Grand Slam title came in January 2007, at the Australian Open.

For Jankovic, it was her first Grand Slam final anywhere, and she seemed to be having the time of her life. She smiled even after losing points, and she kept a close eye on the overhead video boards, either to watch replays or to check out which celebrities were in the audience.