Venus Williams spun around, waved and touched her heart, mouthing "I love you" to the crowd.
After waiting 14 months for a tournament title, she had her celebration down pat.
No longer injured or tentative, Williams breezed through two wonderful sets and ended her drought by coming back to beat Conchita Martinez 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 Sunday at the Family Circle Cup, in Charleston, S.C.
"I just wanted to start this year from here," said Williams, a four-time Grand Slam tournament champion.
By winning on clay, she showed that she could be a factor at the French Open, which starts May 24.
And her postmatch pirouette and special salute to the fans showed how thrilled she was to be a winner again — for the 30th time in her career. That ties Williams with Tracy Austin for 12th in WTA Tour history.
"I've never played in front of a crowd that was so supportive of me. A lot of times, I can be playing somewhere, and it's right in the United States, and I can be playing someone who I don't even know how to pronounce her name, and the crowd is very much rooting for the other player," Williams said.
"So for me it's very unusual to come to a place and really everyone is just showing a lot of support."
She didn't put on much of a show during the first set, when she lost her serve twice and had just 10 winners to 16 unforced errors.
But everything changed in the last two sets. Williams had 27 winners and 19 unforced errors during that portion of the match, while 1994 Wimbledon champion Martinez had seven winners and 28 unforced errors.
Williams last won a tournament in February 2003, when she beat Kim Clijsters in the final at Antwerp, Belgium. Shortly after, Williams strained an abdominal muscle, an injury that hampered her until she cut last season short in July.
She looked comfortable on court Sunday, particularly over the last two sets, handling Martinez's changing speeds well and volleying with confidence.
"The first set, I wasn't moving forward enough, and I just really was making too many mistakes," Williams said.
Later, Williams added, she "wanted to turn it around, and I really just started moving in and coming to the net. And, actually, when I was coming in, I felt really good up there, so I didn't stop."
Overall, she went to net 49 times, winning 35 points there.
Martinez, a two-time champion here, was in her first final in four years. The Spaniard dropped to 0-5 in three-set matches this season. Her first service game in the second set was listless and she was broken at love — her first break of the match.
"I think I stopped doing whatever I was doing in the first set," Martinez said. "It's sort of tough to play against her. The ball comes differently."
Martinez won few points after the first set with the drop shots and short balls that were effective early. She occasionally was drawn into — and, for the most part, lost — hard-hitting rallies with Williams.
"The first couple games, I started really strong and hitting my forehand," Martinez said. Williams "obviously started playing a little better, too, not making many mistakes, but I definitely stopped doing what I needed to do."
Williams' serve also got better as the match went on. She hit 60 percent of her first serves in the second set and an ace in the third set was clocked at 113 mph.
In the doubles final, the top-seeded team of Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paulo Suarez beat Martin Navratilova and Lisa Raymond 6-4, 6-1. It was the 47-year-old Navratilova's last appearance at the Family Circle Cup, where she won five doubles titles and four singles titles.
CLAY COURT: Even Tommy Haas is surprised by how well his comeback from shoulder surgery is going.
Haas beat Andy Roddick 6-3, 6-4 at the U.S. Clay Court Championship in Houston on Sunday for his first title in more than two years.
Haas was once ranked as high as No. 2, but he missed all of last season while recovering from the surgery. The German hadn't been in a final since 2002 and last won a tournament at Stuttgart in October 2001.
He was the steadier player from the start, ending the reigning U.S. Open champion's 12-match winning streak.
"It means a lot to win my first clay court title but obviously it means a lot more to me to after my injuries to come back and win a title again," Haas said. "To be honest, I didn't expect to win a tournament this quick but all you can do is prepare for each tournament and do your best and see what's possible."
Roddick dropped to 18-2 at Westside Tennis Club — he was the runner-up to Andre Agassi in this tournament last year — and 32-6 overall this season. He was trying for his third title of 2004.
"The shoulder feels pretty good which is important, I just hope it keeps up this well," Haas said.
Haas plans to play Monte Carlo on Tuesday while Roddick headed for his home in Austin, three-hours away. Roddick is expected to skip Monte Carlo to rest up after a heavy playing schedule.
Haas, who started his comeback from rotator cuff surgery in February, improved to 4-0 against Roddick and took a big step toward regaining his status among elite tennis players.
"Personally, I wish he'd go away, because I don't have a very good record against him," Roddick said. "But the people seem to love you, so welcome back."
Haas broke Roddick in the fourth game of the match and rode that to a first-set victory when Roddick's forehand sailed wide.
Roddick was upset by a line call in the fourth game of the second set when Haas held. He was still complaining after the next game, when Haas broke his serve.
"I saw the mark, but that's not what the match was about," Roddick said. "He just played better than I did."
Mardy Fish and James Blake won the doubles title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow Americans Rick Leach and Brian MacPhie.
ESTORIL OPEN: Juan Ignacio Chela came back to beat Marat Safin 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-3 Sunday to win the Estoril Open in Oeiras, Portugal.
Chela, in his first ATP final since Long Island in 2002, won for the first time in four matches against the 2000 U.S. Open champion.
Chela also won the doubles title Saturday with Gaston Gaudio.
"I won singles and doubles, so it's like a dream," Chela said. "It was a really tough match. I was a little bit nervous at the end and I'm really happy that I have beaten Marat. He's one of the best players in the world, so it's very important for me."
Emilie Loit of France beat Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 7-6 (1) to win the women's title — the second of her career and second in two weeks.
The third-seeded Loit won the Grand Prix SAR in Casablanca, Morocco, a week ago for her first singles championship on the WTA Tour. She played Sunday with her right thigh bandaged but held on for her 10th straight match victory.
"It has been two spectacular weeks. It's been my Grand Slam," Loit said. "I didn't think I could win, but I really tried to. I'm very happy with what I have achieved."
In gusting winds and an occasional light drizzle, Loit led both sets 4-1, but Benesova rallied. Benesova served for the first set at 5-4 but was broken and lost the last three games.
Benesova served for the second set at 5-4 and 6-5, but she was broken each time.
"I didn't play my best tennis, but I was so confident," Loit said.