Serena Williams is the queen of reinvention.

She has done the on-court Lycra catsuits, the denim skirts, the knee-high boots and launched her own line of designer apparel called 'Aneres' - her first name spelled backwards.

She has appeared in the Simpsons and an American rap video, her charity work is well-documented and her autobiography is out later this year.

Her latest venture is writing a television script which she describes as "a mixture between some of my favourite shows, like Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City and Family Guy".

But all that can wait. Wimbledon 2009 needs her to concentrate on what she does best. Playing and winning tennis matches.

On the day Maria Sharapova exited SW19, Serena took her place in the third round with a destructive 6-2 6-1 win against Australia's Jarmila Groth.

It took just 57 minutes but with serves consistently topping 115mph and groundstrokes a blur so hard were they struck you could not help feel it was a performance which laid down the standard for the women's game.

Without Serena and her sister Venus the women's tournament this Wimbledon would have lots of Safina-type sweat and a fixation on grunt, but it would not have the mark of a champion.

Not like the Williamses, who have won seven singles titles here between them, with Serena having won back to back in 2002 and 2003 as well as also having finished runner-up twice.

"I really am trying to be the best player that I can be in this tournament," said Serena, who plays Roberta Vinci next.

"For me there's always room for improvement. Today I could have returned better and come to the net a little bit more. It's exciting to think I can do better.

"I enjoy every moment being out on court. The competition is what keeps me motivated."

There have been times when the tennis world has not always appreciated the Williamses. Times when their sisterly rivalry has seemed a little less than brutally competitive.

Times, too, when the fashion and the fripperies have appeared to be a distraction.

But as the women's game has lost sublime players such as Justine Henin to retirement, Kim Clijsters and Lindsay Davenport temporarily to motherhood and Jennifer Capriati to advancing years, the realisation is dawning that it is the Williamses who have kept the show from falling apart.

True, they might tailor their itineraries these days. They might not chase the number one ranking as once they did but Serena has won two of the last three grand slams, the US and Australian Opens while losing in the French quarter-final to the eventual winner Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The injuries which dogged her two years ago appear to be history and her movement on Court One against Groth suggested an athlete back to the pinnacle of her powers.

An athlete hungry to add to her tally of 10 grand slams.

"Wimbledon and Williams are here and we want to be here this year, next year and for years to come," Serena said.

So what would be the opening scene if she was writing a film script, came the question?

"Holding a championship," Serena said without a pause. Wimbledon 2009 would do nicely.