WIMBLEDON, England -- A deepened understanding of the two human beings who are the Williams sisters became available Saturday at the All England Club, where Venus Williams won with a muted celebration and Serena Williams lost with a telling despondency.
When their high-quality Wimbledon final in swirling Centre Court wind ended, and when Venus won her fifth Wimbledon title by 7-5, 6-4, their identities as older sister and younger sister did resonate.
Venus, the older sister, said she played with persistent awareness of her opponent because, "At no point am I ever able to forget Serena, because I have the ultimate respect for her game and I have a lot of respect for her serve. If I was playing anyone else I wouldn't have to face what I had to face today, so it's impossible to forget."
With an opposite reaction, Serena, the coddled younger sister, said, "It's definitely not any easier. I just look at her as another opponent at the end of the day" -- this, only days after saying losses to her sister hurt less.
She then continued moping.
Asked for impressions of her sister's five titles, Serena said, "Well, it says a lot about her, I mean, she's won five Wimbledons now. She's beaten me on grass now, so that definitely says a lot."
It definitely says that a player who has won five Wimbledons has beaten a player who has won two.
In those observations and in others lurked a partial explanation for Serena's unmitigated dominance over her sister in their five Grand Slam finals between the 2002 French Open and Wimbledon 2003. Clearly it owed something to a greater ruthlessness, a greater ability to forget the love for the person across the net.
Asked if she were happy for her sister, Serena said, "Yeah, of course," but in a tone so sullen it suggested that as the self-proclaimed baby of the family, she hadn't labored over the question.
Asked to speculate on her reaction had Serena won, Venus said, "I think I would have been happy for her. I would have been more disappointed . . . about the number. Like five" -- titles -- "is really monumental. Like last year I thought four was incredible, but now five is -- I would have been more disappointed about not being able to make the history than actually not winning the match, if that makes any sense."
The protector, Venus, 28, said of losing in the past, "The times I lost, I tried. She put a ton of pressure on me. She hit my best serve back for winners, just was unbelievable, and she just played better. So there was not much I could do. I tried."
