IF Serena Williams overcomes Angelique Kerber to win an eighth Wimbledon ladies singles title today it will be one of the most remarkable stories in sporting history. But am I surprised that she is back in the final at the age of 36, just nine months after the birth of her first child? No, because she is quite simply is one of the finest athletes we have ever seen in world sport.

I don’t think you can compare her with anyone else, she is unique. Obviously there is the power that she has which means serves bigger than any other female player has, or ever has done in the past. But it is the sheer hunger and determination she has too. There is something that runs through her which means she never gives up. As a competitor she sets new benchmarks.

It is too difficult to say whether she is the best ever, but she is one of the best ever, let’s put it that way. People say Roger Federer and her are natural athletes but you can’t become one of the best of all time without working very hard and being very, very dedicated. Coming back so seamlessly as a mother doesn’t surprise you, but what you have to do is sit back and admire it. Do we see any lack of desire, hunger and motivation? No, this is just what these champions do. She isn’t doing it for fame or for money.

The work she has to put in, to get back to the level where she can reach a Grand Slam final is incredible. She went to Roland Garros and played the right schedule. She played singles and doubles and everyone was saying ‘what are you doing?’ then she pulled out of her match about pectoral issue. But was she ever actually considering winning the women’s singles at the French Open? I don’t think so. I think she was saying ‘I am looking ahead, I know how good I am at Wimbledon, I am just going to give my body a bit of shock treatment here, get back to playing competitive tennis again’. And then, once that body gets that feeling, I’m going to train so hard on grass.

That is what she has done, and she has got better and better every round. People weren’t sure at the start then the big seeds all get knocked out. But here is Serena again. And she is getting better and getting fitter throughout the tournament. She is not fatiguing.

The match-up with Kerber is interesting because the German is a very different kind of athlete. She is much smaller in stature but very powerful, she has strong legs and that translates into how she plays the game. She gets really low on the court and her aim is to hold the baseline, she doesn’t like giving any ground at all. She uses the pace of the bigger hitters very cleverly to deflects the ball around. Because she is compact and a lefty she is able to get a bit more unusual angles on the court.

The only issue is that you don’t come up against Serena Williams every week - you try holding the baseline against someone who is hitting that big, it is very difficult. But Kerber has tremendous court coverage too – as good as anyone in the women’s game – and has tremendous hand skills on the run. She will need to use that to the max against the power of Serena.

Why don’t players make Serena run more? Well, her first serve is coming down at speeds akin to the men’s game so you are defending from the first ball. And her ground strokes are so powerful that even if you get the ball back, you are running. Likewise, unless you get a high percentage of first serves in, and enough on it, she is going to be pouncing all over you. Then you are running again.

Today can be a tough game, because Kerber is getting back to really good form. I can see it potentially being close but there is something about Serena at Wimbledon. She just has too much firepower. Having the memory recall of beating Serena in a Grand Slam final, the Australian Open in 2016, is hugely important and her grass court game is good. Sometimes a lefty second serve stays lower, Serena might not be able to attack it in quite the same way. She is going to have to play a very good match and she can take confidence from the fact that Serena is still getting back to here best but Serena, on Centre Court, is one of the biggest challenges in sport.

WAS anyone really surprised at what happened yesterday when Kevin Anderson’s semi-final against John Isner went six hours? Everyone know that big servers on a grass court can be very dangerous. I always thought Kevin was going to edge it, because he returns better and moves better. But when it gets into a fifth set and both of them get in a rhythm it becomes very hard for either of them to break serve.

Their arms are so loose by then that they can hit big serves but the legs don’t want to stretch to get the racket on the ball to get it back. It could have gone on and on and on. Thankfully it didn’t.

There will be calls for rule changes, but I don’t’ think fifth-set tie-breaks should be brought in. I think it is good that Wimbledon keeps the tradition of long final set. It is the ultimate test in the sport. You could say a bit like a Test match in cricket.

Everyone knows the start time. It happened to be two big servers. You don’t change it because of that. It is part of the fascination. Everybody is getting their money’s worth.

I wasn’t a player here so I never experienced it but it is an emotional thing, you start thinking far less about the tennis, it becomes more about handling yourself. I think it is amazing and if we didn’t get to see it again I think it would be a shame. Likewise, five set matches for men has been here for ever, that is what everyone puts in the training for. Tradition is very very important and Wimbledon leads the way in tradition.

I do feel for Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic who have had to sit around for a long time but they are experienced enough and used to it. It is not like a match that long happens every year, it is unusual. Kevin will be tired on Sunday but it is a Wimbledon final, I think he will find a way to get himself up for it. There will be some fatigue, he has been on court for six hours, of course that is going to take an effect. He has done great to make finals at the US Open and then Wimbledon at his stage of his career, he is so on it. But he will still be a giant underdog in the final.

I don’t think anyone saw his win against Roger Federer coming. All roads seemed to lead to the final for Federer. But on hot conditions on a court that is hard, big servers can catch fire, and get a big first strike, then upsets can happen. This has been another great tournament - the Juan Martin del Potro against Rafa match was unreal, one of the best few matches for years, with astonishing sportsmanship at the end. That match will stay in my mind for a long time, even more so as it had Andy Murray commentating on it.