Venus Defeats Serena For Wimbledon Title

Williams Beats Younger Sister 7-5, 6-4 To Win Fifth Wimbledon Trophy

(AP)  Venus Williams beat sister Serena 7-5, 6-4 Saturday for her fifth Wimbledon title and seventh Grand Slam championship.

This was Venus' first victory over her younger sibling in a Grand Slam final since the 2001 U.S. Open, and it evened their career record at 8-8.

"I can't believe that it's five," Venus said. "But when you're in the final against Serena Williams, five seems too far away. ... She played so awesome, it was really a task to beat her."

Venus came from 3-1 down in the first set to turn around the match, breaking Serena four times while dropping serve twice in a final that produced breathtaking tennis despite swirling wind.

This was more than a matchup between siblings; it was a contest between two of the hardest-hitting, most athletic players in the world at the top of their game.

Venus broke to finish the match, with Serena hitting a backhand wide on the second match point. The sisters embraced at the net, and Venus kept her celebrations in check as she twirled and waved to the Centre Court crowd.

Venus accepted the winner's trophy - a sterling silver salver aptly named the Venus Rosewater dish - from the Duke of Kent.

"It's so rewarding to perform here," Venus said. "Every time I come back I know I have the chance to play well and make history. My first job is big sister and I take that very seriously."

Watching from the players' box was the sisters' mother, Oracene. Their father, Richard, had flown back to the United States because he can't stand to watch his daughters play each other.

Referring to the mixed feelings of her family about who to support, Venus said, "It's hard for all of them, but I like to think they want me to win."

The 26-year-old Serena accepted her runner-up trophy and paid tribute to her 28-year-old sister.

"I'm so happy that at least one of us was able to win," Serena said. "She's played great this year. We're just glad to be in the finals again."

[Left: Venus Williams, bottom, in action against her sister Serena on the Centre Court at Wimbledon.

The sisters were set to return later to Centre Court to play for the women's doubles title, joining forces to face Lisa Raymond of the U.S. and Samantha Stosur of Australia in the final.

"Serena deserves to win something, so I'll try even harder for that," said Venus, who collected a winner's check of $1.49 million.

Venus, appearing in her seventh Wimbledon final, avenged her two losses to Serena in the 2002 and 2003 title matches and stopped her sister from winning her ninth Grand Slam.

Many all-Williams finals have been awkward affairs that didn't live up to expectations, with the sisters having trouble playing their best. But this final featured long, corner-to-corner rallies, booming serves and winning shots flashing all over the court.

Both sisters struggled in the wind, with Venus repeatedly stopping to catch her service toss and rallies often disrupted by sudden gusts.

"It was so not easy," Serena said. "Every time I tried to hit a shot, the wind would blow it."

On Sunday, five-time champion Roger Federer and two-time runner-up Rafael Nadal will meet in their third consecutive final at Wimbledon.

Federer, chasing his 13th Grand Slam title, has won 65 consecutive matches on grass and 40 straight at the All England Club. He will be trying to surpass Bjorn Borg by winning a sixth straight Wimbledon title. The only man to win six in a row was Willie Renshaw in the 1880s, and he had to win only one match to defend his titles.

Nadal could become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.

[hypnotoad72]

Everybody prefers Mercury to Uranus anyway...

Besides, wasn''t that planet renamed in the 26th century to dispense with that corny joke once and for all? Let''s see, what did they rename it to...

[whiskyrocker]

Misspp
THESE 2 WOMEN ARE ON THE "JUICE". ROID FREAKS TO THE EXTREME!

[kamsack50]

Of the two, I''ve always preferred Serena over her stick-like sister. I like Amazon girls, and Serena''s one of the best.

[kamsack50]

Of the two, I''ve always preferred Serena over her stick-like sister. I like Amazon girls, and Serena''s one of the best.

[misspp-2009]

whiskeyrocker:
do you have any original thoughts or do you inhabit the amen-corner of radman5000? i ask because you keep quoting radman5000 whose statements, quite frankly, are shallow at best. and when you''re not doing that, you give one-sentence quotes such as huice-queens or juice-sisters. Come on! you can do better than that.

[whiskyrocker]

"JUICE QUEENS"

[tbweb]

Both Williams sisters, World Class!

[whiskyrocker]

Radman5000 said it all again. Good job.

[radman5000]

misspp Bobby Riggs sucked at tennis and Billie Jean would have beat him no matter what , All the juice did was help her look real good while she did it,

[whiskyrocker]

Misspp:
You assume I''m a man. You hurt my feelings now.

[misspp-2009]

whiskyrocker
why do you assume Billie Jean couldn''t have won on ability? did you see the match? i did. he was 55, she was 29. he was thoroughly whipped by her. he was even older when he and Vitas Gerulaitis lost a doubles match to Navratilova and Shriver. Are you chauvinistic or uninformed? Bobby Riggs described himself as a chauvinist pig.

[whiskyrocker]

"Juice Sisters"

[sinibaldi1]

I call you, my dear....

Like a magical
fear, in my heart,
there''s always
a footprint that
now disappears in
the light of a pathway,
and there my
desire gives an
attention to some
beautiful birds.

Francesco Sinibaldi

[mkbjon]

They are both terrific athletes---very proud of them both.

[whiskyrocker]

Misspp
OK--
Bille Jean King was so juiced up she pounded Bobby Riggs. Feel better now.

[misspp-2009]

whiskyrocker;

thanks for taking the coward''s way out.

[whiskyrocker]

Misspp:

Radman5000 said it all!

[radman5000]

Thats right Billie Jean King was so juiced up she smoked Bobby Riggs when she played him

[misspp-2009]

whiskyrocker;

please tell me what you know about Billie Jean and the others.

[whiskyrocker]

Misspp

Radman is only speaking the truth.Billie Jean and the whole lot of them were juiced up. Get over it.