Serena Williams fought off two match points on her way to an epic 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 comeback win over world number one Justine Henin to claim her fourth Sony Ericsson title on Saturday.
Brushed aside in 26 minutes in the opening set and broken by the Belgian to start the second, Williams's title hopes had appeared over.
But the muscular American, backed by a vocal home crowd at Crandon Park, gathered her reserves and slowly clawed her way back into the contest, finally gaining control after fending off two match points with Henin serving at 5-4 in the second.
With the crowd and the momentum now on her side, a ruthless Williams moved in for the kill sweeping through the next six games to take a 3-0 lead in the third set, closing out the two hour 26 minute marathon with service winner on her first match point.
While Williams is currently ranked 18th, the final featured the WTA Tour's two hottest players with both women coming into the showdown having lost just one match this season.
Henin arrived in the championship match riding a 13 match unbeaten streak including back-to-back titles in Dubai and Doha while Williams, playing her first event since the Australian Open, brought a 12 match unbeaten run onto Stadium court.