THERE COMES a time when the achievement finally equals the superlatives, when the numbers crunch and the player detaches herself from the crowd, moves out of reach, is unequalled by her peers.

That Serena Williams left Billie Jean King in her wake on Saturday with her 13th Grand Slam win may have a greater resonance with another generation. But for this one it poses questions and far from learning from the Williams Family Inc, there will be the scratching of bewildered, demoralised heads and real wonder if after 10 years, the rest of the WTA tour are slipping behind and not rising to the demands of sport’s greatest family. The sisters have won nine out of the last 11 Wimbledon titles, this one Serena’s fourth.

Such was her dominance over Vera Zvonareva, Williams added her name to the list of winners who did not drop a set over the entire tournament.

In the final the Russian couldn’t earn a single break point during the 66 minutes and as Williams ran her into the ground on a dusty, hot Centre Court, she also accepted her position behind Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova as the fourth best Grand Slam singles winner in the Open era.

Steffi Graf, with 22 titles, remains the greatest modern player, with Margaret Smith Court the all-time leader with 24.

“The rate she is going she can catch me and Chris,” said Navratilova. “Serena is head and shoulders above the rest and she will go on for years. The young guns haven’t come close, while the old guard of Kim Clijsters, Justin Henin and Venus aren’t up to it.”

Passing King was “kind of cool” said Serena, but she refused to recant her philosophy of mixing tennis while chasing careers in fashion and film.

Her claims that these landmarks in tennis history are piffling and not at all part of her consciousness could be deciphered as disingenuous.

“I didn’t even know I was six on the list or seven or whatnot,” she said. “My thing is I love my dogs. I love my family. I love going to the movies. I love reading. I love going shopping. Like it’s not on my list to be, you know, this. At the end of the day I would love to open more schools in Africa or in the US.

“That’s what I think about, not Serena Williams won X amount of Grand Slams. I’ve never really cared what people said. It never really bothered or mattered to me. And so if I was happy winning or losing then that’s my life.”

Asked about the importance of her place in history, she seemed more smitten. “It’s definitely important.”

Navratilova also declared Williams’ serve was the greatest of all time in the women’s game, a claim few can dispute as she extended the record for aces to 89 with nine more against Zvonareva and beating her record 72 set last year.

To that backdrop the final was a Williams demonstration of raw athleticism, a competitive match for one set that lasted 36 minutes in which she broke serve once for 6-3.

Her running forehand down the line to leave Zvonareva flapping at the net for the service break could have been the shot of the tournament. After that it was a 31-minute procession to the title for 6-2 in the second set.

Despite her shortcomings Zvonareva was more upbeat than her emotionally overwhelming end to the match might have suggested and she threw down a challenge to the rest of the tour.

“Yeah, of course she’s beatable,” said the 25-year-old, rejecting suggestions of Williams’s infallibility.