AFP IS NOW CLOSING THIS LIVE REPORT after Serena Williams clinched her fifth Wimbledon title with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 win over Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska.
After being out-classed for the first set and a half of her first ever Grand Slam final, world No. 3 Radwanska staged a remarkable comeback in the second following a a 25-minute rain delay to level the match at one set all.
But Serena, the sixth seed at this year's championships, finally recovered her composure to reclaim the title after a match which lasted 2 hours and 2 mins on Centre Court.
The victory gave Williams her 14th Grand Slam crown and is her first at the majors since her last Wimbledon triumph in 2010.
Read on to find out how today's final unfolded -- and join me again tomorrow as Andy Murray attempts to become the first Briton to win Wimbledon in 73 years when he takes on Roger Federer in the men's final.
1555 GMT: "I can't describe it. I almost didn't make it a few years ago. I was in hospital and I thought I'd never be here again, so this makes it so worth it," said Williams, after she became the first 30-year-old since Martina Navratilova in 1990 to take the title at the All England Club.
"It's all the sweeter. I was so down but you never give up. You have to continue," added Williams, who won her first Wimbledon title in 2002.
1545 GMT: The ball boys and girls form the traditional guard of honour and Williams picks up the winner's trophy, the Venus Rosewater Dish, while Radwanska is presented with the runner-up's silver plate.
Williams had to recover from a blood clot on here lung 18 months ago, and her recovery since then clearly makes this victory all the more special for her.
"I almost didn't make it a few years ago with being in hospital," Williams tells the crowd.
Serena has now matched her sister Venus with five Wimbledon titles: "I've always wanted everything that Venus has had!" she adds.
1535 GMT: SERENA WILLIAMS WINS HER FIFTH WIMBLEDON SINGLES TITLE!
Williams serves out the match, taking her first championship point against Agnieszka Radwanska to seal a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory in 2 hours 2 mins.
1532 GMT: Radwanska 1-6 7-5 2-5 *Williams
BREAK - Williams breaks again and surely she is now on her way to sealing her fifth Wimbledon title.
Radwanska saved three break points from 0-40 in that game, the last with a fortunate net cord that caused Williams to send a forehand long.
But the America 6th seed then forced another chance and sealed the break with a well-disguised forehand dropshot.
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1528 GMT: *Radwanska 1-6 7-5 2-4 Williams
Williams holds serve and there wasn't much Radwanska could do in that game. The American's extra power is telling with some punishing groundstrokes forcing errors from the Pole.
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1522 GMT: Radwanska 1-6 7-5 2-3 *Williams
BREAK - Williams breaks Radwanska's serve. She upped the pace in that game and sealed it with a rasping drive volley. How will Radwanska respond?
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1519 GMT: *Radwanska 1-6 7-5 2-2 Williams
Williams fires down four aces in a row to hold to love in a 49 second game! That'll make the 30-year-old feel a whole lot better.
That's 15 aces for the match now from Williams and her 100th of the tournament.
The match time is now 1 hour 44 minutes.
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1516 GMT: Radwanska 1-6 7-5 2-1 *Williams
Radwanska holds off a first break point with a forehand that forces the error from Williams, then a second with a backhand winner down the line.
Williams then sends her own backhand into the tramlines and the Pole holds.
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1510 GMT: *Radwanska 1-6 7-5 1-1 Williams
Williams took her time in that game, battling to find out a way out of this rut.
There are blue skies over Centre Court now and no immediate threat of rain intervening here...
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1504 GMT: Radwanska 1-6 7-5 1-0 *Williams
Radwanska keeps up her momentum, battling through several deuces to start the third set with another service hold.
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1459 GMT: GAME AND SECOND SET RADWANSKA!
*Radwanska 1-6 7-5 Williams
A sensational turnaround taking place on Centre Court as Williams nets after a long rally to give the Pole the break -- and the set.
We're going to have the first three-set women's final for six years.
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1456 GMT: Radwanska 1-6 6-5 *Williams
Radwanska holds to love!
The Pole's tennis since the rain delay seems to has helped her find some self belief.
Remember she had never even reached a Grand Slam semi-final before making this year's WImbledon.
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1453 GMT: *Radwanska 1-6 5-5 Williams
Some more signs of nerves from Williams as she nets and lets out a shriek, letting her frustration show. But she shows some great defences on the next point and holds with a backhand winner down the line.
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1448 GMT: Radwanska 1-6 5-4 *Williams
And Radwanska follows it up with a service hold as Williams nets with a backhand. I think we may just have a match on our hands...
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1444 GMT: *Radwanska 1-6 4-4 Williams
First break point chance for Radwanska after 59 minutes - and she takes it as Williams hits a forehand long!
Do we have a match on our hands?
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1435 GMT: Radwanska 1-6 3-4 *Williams
Radwanska holds serve again with ease. Williams is still on course to lose her lowest number of games in any of her seven Wimbledon finals - Vera Zvonareva won only five game against her in 2010.
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1431 GMT: *Radwanska 1-6 2-4 Williams
Williams holds with ease.with some more rasping forehands.
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1428 GMT: Radwanska 1-6 2-3 *Williams
Radwanska holds again - the No. 3 seed is shoing a bit more aggression now at least.
NB - these two have met each other twice before, once on clay and once on the grass here at Wimbledon, both in 2008. Unsurprisingly Williams has a 2-0 winning record...
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1423 GMT: *Radwanska 1-6 1-3 Williams
The Williams juggernaut rumbles on, holding with a volleyed backhand winner.
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1419 GMT: Radwanska 1-6 1-2 *Williams
More bad news for Radwanska - Williams break's her Polish opponent's serve, and what's more does so to love.
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1416 GMT: *Radwanska 1-6 1-1 Williams
...but Williams is straight back into her stride on her serve and levels the scores.
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1413 GMT: Radwanska 1-6 1-0 *Williams
Radwanska finds some form with here serve and holds to 15. Now can she make some inroads into the Williams serve...
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1412 GMT: The second set is under way after a 25 minute delay - Radwanska to serve...
1410 GMT: The players are back out on Centre and warming up - Radwanska really has to do something early in this set to make a match of it.
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1358 GMT: Good news from Centre Court (at least for Serena...) - the groundstaff are taking the covers off.
"Flippy and Floppy would have more chance than Radwanska of getting back into this," says my colleague Dave James (see earlier 1332 GMT post...)
1347 GMT: GAME AND FIRST SET WILLIAMS
*Radwanska 1-6 Williams
Some sizzling backhands from the number six seed and she closes out the set in just 36 minutes.
But here comes the rain and the covers are coming on...
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1344 GMT: Radwanska 1-5 *Williams
Radwanska finally gets on the scoreboard after 33 minutes of this first set - the 23-year-old showed signs of some trying some different tactics, at one point to draw Williams into the net before an easy volleyed winner.
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1336 GMT: *Radwanska 0-5 Williams
Williams holds again and is really upping the pace with some rasping groundstrokes.
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1332 GMT: Radwanska 0-4 *Williams
Oh dear - Williams breaks again and looks well on her way to winning this first set.
A bit on Radwanska's background - she comes from the southern Polish city of Krakow and, more intriguingly, had two pet rats when she was younger, called Flippy and Floppy.
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1329 GMT: *Radwanska 0-3 Williams
Radwanska takes Williams to deuce but the No. 6 seed manages to hold serve. A great attempted get in that game from the Pole following a Serena smash, though it dropped just wide...
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1322 GMT: Radwanska 0-2 *Williams
A long game lasting over eight minutes but Williams eventually breaks after several deuces. Ominous signs from the American already, firing winners both forehand and backhand winners.
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1313 GMT: *Radwanska 0-1 Williams
Williams is straight into her stride and notches up an easy hold.
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1305 GMT: The players got to the net with the umpire for the coin toss, which is performed by 13-year-old Archie Barker who was born with a clubfoot.
The teenager is representing childrenâ??s medical charity Sparks, raising awareness of the disability which stops people from being able to place the sole of their foot flat on the ground.
Williams won the toss and will serve first.
1259 GMT: The players are greeted by a burst of applause as they walk out onto Centre Court, Radwanska and Williams both carrying large bouquets of purple and lilac flowers.
1252 GMT: By way of contrast, this is Radwanska's first grand slam final while it's Serena's 18th, and her seventh in the green and pleasant surroundings of SW19.
1245 GMT: Radwanska insisted yesterday that she would be fit to face Serena Williams despite suffering a health scare which caused her to cancel a scheduled news conference.
After pulling out of her pre-final interview session, the 23-year-old No. 3 seed confirmed she was fighting an upper respiratory problem and had been struggling to talk.
Radwanska - the first Polish Grand Slam finalist for 73 years - had also cut short her media duties on Thursday after beating Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4 in her semi-final.
The 2005 Wimbledon junior champion was so badly troubled by a cough during the 10-minute session that she had to call a premature halt to proceedings.
WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT on the Wimbledon women's final between Polish No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and American four-time champion Serena Williams.
The match is due to start on Centre Court at 14:00 BST (1300 GMT).
The rain showers that fell in south-west London this morning have eased and, with the immediate forecast for a dry spell, the match is expected start with the retractable roof withdrawn.
