In a three-set stunner, Jelena Jankovic fell to Venus Williams at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Williams stepped onto the court with bandages on her thigh and arm. In the first set, her serves were weak and her feet sluggish. Still, the crowd cheered loudly and did what they could to motivate her at only her second Indian Wells appearance since 2001. Jankovic, playing well but by no means her best, had little trouble taking the first set 6-1 in 20 minutes.

The second set began with both holding their first service games, but Jankovic quickly broke Williams and earned a 4-1 lead. While most of the audience was still firmly cheering on Williams, it was clear most thought the match was over and dozens began to stream out of the stadium. At this point in the match, Williams mustered up every bit of fight she had in her. Running down every ball and putting her full extension into ever serve, Williams took the next five games to grab a 5-4 lead. Jankovic broke serve to equalize at 5. The set went into a thrilling tiebreak that Williams won 7-5.

With the crowd cheering on her every move, Williams stunned Jankovic to a 6-1 final set, which she poetically punctuated with an ace. After an hour and 46 minutes, the final score was 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1.  Asked by the on-court emcee, how she muscled the mental energy to mount such a resurgence, she joked that it isn’t over till it’s over, and “I didn’t see no fat lady singing.”

At a press conference following her victory, the first she gave at the tournament, Williams was all smiles and joked with journalists. Asked if she plays doubles for the fun of it, she quipped, “I play doubles for Grand Slam titles, and that's fun.” Asked whom she would choose to play mixed doubles with, she answered “Serena Williams.” When the reporter Karen Helf of Tennis View, clarified she asked about mixed doubles, Williams grinned and just repeated “Serena Williams. I’ll take my chances.”