128 started the tournament, two remain. One of them, Serena Williams, has been there and done that countless times before. The other, Agnieszka Radwanska, has not. But with her straight sets defeat of Angelique Kerber, Radwanska not only became the first Polish player - man or woman - to reach the final of a Grand Slam in the open era, but she became the world No. 2 in the process. If she wins, she will be world No. 1.
If she wins ...
It's fair to say that despite the higher world ranking, Radwanksa will not start Saturday's final as the favourite. Not only has she never experienced a Grand Slam final before, but she has never beaten her opponent, either. Admittedly, the pair have only met twice - both times in 2008 - but in four sets of tennis Radwanska has only amassed eight games.
What's more, despite clocking up an impressive tally of wins this year, Radwanska has struggled on a number of occasions against hard-hitting players of the Williams / Azarenka ilk (Azarenka has beaten Radwanska six times in 2012). And with Williams positively devouring the 100mph serves Azarenka was clocking in their semifinal, what is she going to do against some of the 70mph efforts that the Pole throws at her on Saturday?
That's not to say Radwanska doesn't have a chance. She absolutely does. She is a tricky, intelligent player who is capable of beating big-hitting opponents (Kerber in the semifinals is an example of that). But she will have her work cut out keeping a hungry and aggressive Serena Williams in check.
And Williams is hungry. It's plain for all to see. Unlike her ice-cold opponent in the final, Williams wears her heart on her sleeve. And unlike some tournaments where she has put up listless performances when severely challenged, at Wimbledon she has fought tooth and nail to force her way into this final. What’s more, she keeps getting better. The more time she has spent on the SW19 lawns the better she looks, and the way she took control of an in-form Azarenka with 24 aces (a Wimbledon record) and 45 winners was, at times, sublime.
Williams will go into her seventh Wimbledon final telling everyone that she is the underdog and that, based on world rankings, she has nothing to lose. In private, she almost certainly believes that she already has one hand on the Venus Rosewater Dish. Unless Radwanska can eliminate every nerve, chase down every ball, and nail every shot, you have to think that the four-time Wimbledon champion might just be right.