Venus Williams defeats sister Serena in Wimbledon final
WIMBLEDON
The older sibling, with a 7-5, 6-4 victory, now has five women's singles titles in her last nine visits to the All England Club.
WIMBLEDON, England -- In a taut final that usually bordered on superb, Venus Williams cemented her status today as the best grass-court tennis player of the decade.
In Centre Court winds that swirled and hollered, Williams not only ratcheted her Wimbledon title total to five, but she overcame the person most responsible for that numeral not being higher. She beat her younger sister, Serena Williams, 7-5, 6-4, reversing the outcomes from the 2002 and 2003 finals here and turning exultant while her sister was looking despondent.
An hour and 49 minutes into a match at the All England Club, Serena Williams led 4-2 in the first set, the finalists traded shrieks and screams during a 12-shot rally as they scrapped for a point that Venus Williams ultimately won on an angular backhand that made the crowd gasp, followed by a crushed backhand winner up the line.
That gave her two match points against Serena's serve, and Venus' rise further into the stratosphere of tennis history came soon.
"Obviously that first match point she hit a serve that was untouchable," Venus said. "So, of course, I mean, that was classic Serena Williams. But in that last one, I had a chance at a second serve, the ultimate opportunity. So I just stayed tough in that point, and she was going for it until the end.
"Of course when I saw it go wide" -- a backhand up the line that sprayed somewhat -- "I'm thinking, Oh, my . . . it's five. Wow."
It's five titles in the last nine Julys, the same number of titles as Charlotte Cooper Sterry and Charlotte Dod of the late 1800s. It's one fewer than 20th century bright lights Billie Jean King and Suzanne Lenglen. It happened beneath a royal box that included King and nine-time champion Martina Navratilova.
It also wound up in a muted, truncated celebration.
Venus Williams raised her arms at first in what appeared a budding revel, then brought them down immediately as she hurried to the net for a family hug. "You know, I'm definitely in tune with my sister's feelings because one of us has to win and one of us has to lose," Venus said. "Of course the celebration just isn't as exciting because my sister just lost."
Her perception about her sister's feelings would be spot-on, given how gloomy Serena looked later in the afternoon, just before they played doubles.
"I don't think I played well," Serena said. "I don't think I'm satisfied with the way I played today. For me there's nothing to be satisfied about."
