Venus Williams beats sister Serena for Wimbledon crown

WIMBLEDON, England—This time, big sister put little sister in her place.

Advantage, Miss Venus Williams.

She defeated Serena 7-5, 6-4 Saturday for her fifth Wimbledon title and second in a row. Venus avenged two previous losses to her younger sibling in the final at the All England Club and reasserted her dominance on her favorite court and favorite grass surface.

“I can’t believe that it’s five,” said Venus, who now also has seven Grand Slam championships. “But when you’re in the final against Serena Williams, five seems too far away.”

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 in 1 hour, 51 minutes, 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.

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 whom 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.

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

Venus is the 10th woman to win five Wimbledon singles titles, and only the third in the 40-year history of the Open era after Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf.

“Definitely winning this tournament so many times definitely puts you in the stratosphere,” Venus said.

She is four shy of Navratilova’s record of nine singles championships.

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, made up for 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.

In the opening game of the second set, Venus smacked a service winner on game point at 129 mph — breaking her own Wimbledon record of 127 mph and matching her women’s tour record set at last year’s U.S. Open.

Serena took more chances and finished with 32 winners and 11 unforced errors; Venus had 27 winners and 13 unforced mistakes. Serena also outaced her sister 9-4, but Venus won the big points when she needed them.

The third game of the second set was practically a match in itself — 14 minutes and 21 points. Serena broke on her seventh break point, hitting an easy volley into the open court after Venus slipped and fell backward going for a backhand.

That gave Serena a 2-1 lead, but she failed to grab her chance and Venus broke right back. They remained on serve, engaging in a 23-stroke rally in the ninth game, until Venus broke again to end the match.