WIMBLEDON, England — It’s rare to see Venus Williams telegraph defeat on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, where she has triumphed so many times.
But masterful serving and ruthless groundstrokes from her younger sister, Serena, who competed without regard to family ties, had Venus doing just that in Saturday’s all-Williams Wimbledon singles final.
This year it was Serena who raised the prized Venus Rosewater Dish after reducing Venus, a five-time Wimbledon champion, to a tentative, error-prone also-ran.
“It feels so amazing,” Serena said after her 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory. “I’m so blessed. I can’t believe I’m holding it, and Venus isn’t. She always wins!”
The match stayed close through the first set, with each holding serve. But after winning the tiebreak, Serena ramped up her power and precision to close the contest in just 87 minutes.
With the victory, Serena, 27, claimed her 11th major title and her third Wimbledon crown.
Roughly three hours later, the sisters returned to Centre Court and teamed up to defend their 2008 doubles title, defeating the Australian duo of Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. Fittingly, Serena blasted the ace that clinched the victory and ensured that Venus wouldn’t leave Wimbledon this year without a trophy.
All told, it was a breathtaking display of one family’s utter dominance of a sport. Serena bowed out having lost only one set through seven rounds of singles competition; Venus lost only two. And in doubles, they never dropped a set.
Whether playing together or apart, the Williams sisters competed for two weeks on the hallowed lawn of the All England Club without coming across a player who was their equal — except, of course, until Venus found herself staring across the net at Serena.
And that made the quirks of the sport’s computer-based ranking system all the more peculiar.
Serena has now won three of the past four majors (the 2008 U.S. Open and this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon). But she will still remain No. 2 in the world, ranked behind Russia’s Dinara Safina, who on Thursday suffered the most resounding semifinal defeat in Wimbledon’s modern era — 6-1, 6-0 to Venus. Safina, 23, has yet to win a major title.
Asked if she were disappointed by the ranking formula, Serena alternated between sarcasm and gales of laughter. “It is what it is,” she said. “I’d definitely rather be No. 2 and hold three Grand Slams in the past year than be No. 1 and not have any.”
But in Saturday’s championship between the sisters, there was no mistaking who was the superior player.
The statistics told the story.
Serena served 12 aces with no double faults. Venus, who boasts the fastest serve in the women’s game, managed just two aces and coughed up three double faults, including one that handed Serena the first break of the match, in the sixth game of the second set.
Serena hit twice as many winners as unforced errors (25 to 12), while Venus’s 14 winners were offset by 18 unforced errors.
“Today she was too good,” said Venus, 29. “She had an answer for everything. She played the best tennis today, so congratulations.”
At a glance
A look at Wimbledon on Saturday:
Women’s final: No. 2 Serena Williams beat No. 3 Venus Williams.
Women’s doubles final: Serena and Venus Williams beat Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs to win their fourth Wimbledon title and ninth Grand Slam women’s doubles championship.
Men’s doubles final: No. 2 Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat No. 1 Bob and Mike Bryan.
Stat of the day: 12, 0 — aces, double faults by Serena in the singles final
Quote of the day: “I would just play a good shot, and she’d just hit a winner off of it or put me in a position where she could hit another winner.” — Venus, talking about her younger sister
On court today: Men’s final — No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 6 Andy Roddick
On TV today: KUSA-9, 7 a.m.
The Associated Press
