by Matt Cronin

Serena beat her big sister, Venus, Sunday for the WTA title, ending a longstanding losing streak in non-major tournaments. (Kirsty Wigglesworth / Associated Press)

Once again, Williams got the last laugh over her doubters who continued to wonder whether or not she cared to display her best outside the majors. She hadn't won an event outside of a Slam since April 2008 (the Family Circle Cup) and had said much of this year that her focus was on the big ones, although she assured a skeptical world was still trying at the lesser events. But it sure didn't look so at times, not when she took a slew of losses to more motivated, yet lesser players.

But Williams knew coming into Doha that she needed to put a cherry on what has been a truly chaotic and stressful year for her, highlighted by her terrifying implosion at the U.S. Open, when she scared a lineswoman nearly half to death in her semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters. Serena has tried to do some fence mending since then, but she'll have to cement in many posts and hammer in hundreds of more boards before her reputation is repolished.

The sport's fan base also recalls the threats that the American threw at Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez at the French Open, how she dissed Dinara Safina for holding the No. 1 ranking in the spring, how for the umpteenth time, she decided that playing for her nation in Fed Cup holds little importance to her as she withdrew from next weekend's final against Italy.

But the prideful 28-year-old is very much her own person, has always been brash and will likely never tone down her act too much. It's that brash and headstrong attitude that aids her on court, where she believes that she can hit through anyone on a good day.

That's what she did in Doha, ending the week without a loss and despite wearing a wrap on her left leg, she looked much more fresh than any other player in the physically devastated field. All credit to Venus for even reaching the final given that she clocked more on court hours than anyone having to withstand one three setter after another in the searing desert heat, but Serena was a little quicker in the final, served beautifully (she was never broken and lost only a handful of points on her serve) and when it came down to crunch time in the tiebreaker, she stepped in and ended the contest with a booming ace and untouchable crosscourt forehand.

She's now beaten her older sister on four consecutive occasions (including in the Wimbledon final and twice in Doha) and was the only sister to win two majors this year, including the Australian Open.

"Even though she wasn't feeling good, she was getting every ball back. I can't tell you how frustrating that is. Playing her is never easy," said Serena, who also won the Championships in 2001.

While it's conceivable that no nation will have two top-five players by next year's end, it's probable that Belgium will. A well-rested Clijsters showed herself capable to recapturing the No. 1 spot when she won the U.S. Open in her first major back, and if she keeps to her plan to play a reasonable schedule (before becoming a mom and retiring, she was a play-aholic), she should be able to keep healthy and go deep in nearly every tournament she enters.

The same goes for former No. 1 Justine Henin, who will play a full season beginning in January and will return physically and mentally refreshed. She still has more variety in her game than any other player on tour and has rarely lacked in motivation. It would be surprising if she didn't add to her Slam total of seven majors in 2010.

That leaves Russia and America, two of the tour's most dependable powerhouses. The No. 14-ranked Maria Sharapova seems convinced that her surgically repaired shoulder will hold up, and if it does, there's no question that she still has the talent and desire to hammer her way back into the top five. Dinara Safina, who only managed to play two games at the Championships before withdrawing with a back injury, is so mentally spent that it's doubtful that she'll be able to pick up her game again until midseason. But the Slam-less veteran Elena Dementieva still has a lot to play for, and now that Svetlana Kuznetsova has pocketed her second Slam, she should be more at ease at the big events. At the very least, at least two Russians will push at the top five.

But U.S. fans will be more closely tracking the Williamses, they of the combined 18 Grand Slams. At 29, Venus — who hasn't won a title since February — has shown herself to be ultra competitive again, but the world No. 6 has lost a little speed and accuracy off the ground. If she's unable to transform herself into a consistent net rusher, it's doubtful that when she steps on court for her 16th season next year, that she'll be able to sustain a top-five level for nine months.

Despite the controversy that is sure to surround her next season (the Grand Slam Committee has yet to decide whether to suspend her for the U.S. Open incident), Serena will no doubt be motivated in her attempt to tie her idol Billie Jean King's mark of 12 Slams, let alone wanting to stay in there and slug it out with her old heated rivals Henin, Clijsters and Sharapova.

The last thing that Serena wants to hear is that the two majors that she won in 2008, let alone the Sony Ericsson title, were gained because the other three weren't healthy or around enough to tango with her.

That should give her enough juice to come out firing next year, maybe even outside of the majors.