WIMBLEDON, England - Fourteen Grand Slams passed since Venus Williams won the last of her previous four majors --the 2001 U.S. Open, but she’s now a Grand Slam champion again.

And I certainly was impressed in how she won the title here over Lindsay Davenport, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 9-7 in a two-hour-45 minute match that’s the longest women’s match ever played at Wimbledon.

Venus surprises many
Venus became the first woman since 1935 to win the Wimbledon trophy after facing a match point -– and that’s unbelievable as far as I’m concerned.

I am very surprised that Venus won the title here. She wasn’t in my picks of favorites to take home the trophy, that’s for sure.

I had Justine Henin-Hardenne, Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova at the top of my list of probable champions.

I had a second tier of possible champions where I placed Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams, but I didn’t have Venus on that list either.

Now that she’s won, I wish I could say I had her on my list. But I feel that I don’t think anybody had Venus as one of their favorites when the tournament started, so I wasn’t alone in leaving her out of contention for the title.

Venus' return to form a plus for women's game
I must say that it is fabulous to have Venus back at the top of her game and in the limelight.

FREE VIDEO What a Slam Venus Williams talks about winning her first major title since 2001 at Wimbledon

It’s certainly a big bonus for women’s tennis to have the return of Venus as a Grand Slam champion. She’s one of the biggest stars the game has, and she just makes things more exciting.

Venus hasn’t played well for 18 months and now she’s coming back into her own. I think her presence as the Wimbledon champion only enhances the look of the top of the women’s game.

There's Lindsay Davenport as the world No. 1. Maria Sharapova is the No. 2, Serena Williams winning at the Australian Open, Justine Henin-Hardenne winning the French Open, and now Venus winning Wimbledon.

Plus, there's Kim Clijsters knocking on the door -– that’s a cozy area at the upper echelon of the game that should attract plenty of fans.