Venus Williams defeats sister Serena in Wimbledon final

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.”

Told she didn’t look happy, Serena responded, “I don’t? I wonder why.”

Her habit of winning these family gatherings at the world’s center courts had just undergone a hint of trend reversal. Following Venus Williams’ win over Serena Williams in the 2001 U.S. Open final, the next five finals between the two had gone to the younger sister, concluding with Wimbledon in 2003.

“Obviously today I wanted to try to improve that record,” Venus said, “and I didn’t want the same trend to keep happening and then be like 6-1. So I climbed a little tiny notch up, so it’s 2-5. Still behind, but I’m working on it.”

Their overall head-to-head record budged into an 8-8 tie. Their overall number of Grand Slam titles, which Serena once led by a commanding 8-5, has narrowed to 8-7. Their overall Grand Slam matches stand tied at 5-5. Venus has won the last two Wimbledon titles, the latter without dropping a set.

Serena gave backhanded praise for that, saying, “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.”

Previous meetings became renowned for their spottiness as the sisters tried to combine the necessary ruthlessness with the natural unwillingness to throttle a sister in public. An Australian Open final in 2003 and a Wimbledon final in 2003 finally went three sets, and while this one did not, it might have exceeded those in caliber.

It featured a four-deuce game at 4-4 in the first set, and a 21-minute, seven-deuce game in the third game of the second set. It had Serena starting by crushing winners and Venus clambering back, often by exhibiting her peerless court range.

It had a telltale point to close the third game of the first set.

With game point to Venus, who already trailed, 2-0, Serena hit a passing shot straight at her sister, but as it screamed directly toward Venus, she gave an early hint of the resolve that would carry her. Venus blocked it with a backhand that volleyed it into the open court for a winner.

From there, the champion repeatedly found the wind a nuisance, repeatedly catching her service tosses and delaying matters, of which Serena Williams expressed no bother while saying, “You know, she has a funky toss, so I guess she has to catch it a lot.”

When Venus closed out the first set by shrieking as she drove a deep backhand that coaxed a backhand into the net, Serena bounced her racket off the ground. She spent a good bit of the afternoon with her hands on her hips trying to sort it out, and engaged in her penchant for yelling, “Come on!” less than usual.

Still, they stayed on serve through the first nine games of the second set, until Serena served to try to stay in the match, and Venus hit a closer’s groundstrokes all the way through to the last, wide backhand.

“I think I would have been happy for her,” the champion said. “I would have been more disappointed … about the number. Like, five 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.”