WIMBLEDON, England (July 4) - Serena Williams fell to her knees on the grass, eyes closed, arms raised, and threw back her head.
After six years, it was her turn to hold up the Venus Rosewater Dish again.
In the fourth all-Williams final at Wimbledon, Serena beat her sister Venus 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 on Saturday for her third title and 11th Grand Slam championship.
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Serena Williams of USA celebrates with the Championship trophy after the women's singles final match against Venus Williams of USA on Day Twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 4, 2009 in London, England. Serena Williams of USA won 7-6, 6-2. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams
Getty Images
Serena Williams poses with the Wimbledon Trophy after beating her sister Venus 7-6, 6-2, during their Women's Singles Final of the 2009 Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club, in southwest London, on July 4, 2009. AFP PHOTO/ADRIAN DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Serena Williams of USA celebrates with the Championship trophy after the women's singles final match against Venus Williams of USA on Day Twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 4, 2009 in London, England. Serena Williams of USA won 7-6, 6-2. (Photo by Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams
Getty Images
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Serena Williams of USA celebrates victory during the women's singles final match against Venus Williams of USA on Day Twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 4, 2009 in London, England. Serena Williams of USA won 7-6, 6-2. (Photo by Car De Souza/Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams
Getty Images
Serena Williams of the U.S. holds her trophy after defeating Venus Williams of the U.S. in their Ladies' Singles finals match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 4, 2009. REUTERS/Carl De souza/Pool (BRITAIN SPORT TENNIS)
Reuters
Serena Williams of U.S. pose with the trophy after defeating sister Venus Williams of U.S. in their women's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Carl De Souza, pool)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Serena Williams of U.S. pose with the trophy after defeating sister Venus Williams of U.S. in their women's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Carl De Souza, pool)
AP
Serena Williams of U.S. pose with the trophy after defeating sister Venus Williams of U.S. in their women's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Carl De Souza, pool)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Serena Williams of U.S. pose with the trophy after defeating sister Venus Williams of U.S. in their women's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Carl De Souza, pool)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn of Thailand returns the ball to Kristina Mladenovic of France during their Girls' Singles finals match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, July 4, 2009. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN SPORT TENNIS)
Reuters
"It feels so amazing," Serena said. "I'm so blessed. I feel like I shouldn't be holding the trophy. I can't believe I'm holding it. It's named for Venus and she always wins."
Serena came out on top by out-serving her big sister, lifting her game in the tiebreaker and dictating play throughout the second set, finally winning when five-time champion Venus slapped a backhand into the net on the fourth match point.
Serena beat Venus in the 2002 and '03 finals, before Venus prevailed in last year's championship match. Venus was trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win Wimbledon three years in a row.
Still, the Williams sisters proved their dominance at the All England Club once more, winning their eighth singles title this decade. As always with Williams vs. Williams matches, the celebrations were relatively muted. The sisters embraced at the net, with the 29-year-old Venus patting 27-year-old Serena on the back.
"I didn't think about Venus at all today," Serena said. "I just saw her as an opponent. At one point, after the first set, I looked on the side of the court at the stats, and it was like 'Williams, Williams.' I couldn't figure out which was which."
The sisters were due back on Centre Court later for the women's doubles final, where they will face Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs of Australia. They're seeking their fourth Wimbledon doubles title and 10th Grand Slam crown.
Venus had come into the final as the favorite after playing some of the best grass-court tennis of her career. She hadn't dropped a set in 17 straight matches at Wimbledon, but couldn't cope on this day with the fierce competitive drive and relentless power game of her sister.
"This is one of the few times I didn't expect to come out with the win today," Serena said. "When I won that first set, I was like, 'Wow, this is great. No matter what, I'm a set away.' So I was just trying to relax."
The statistics summed up Serena's superiority: She had 12 aces, 25 winners and 12 unforced errors, compared to two aces, 14 winners and 18 unforced mistakes for Venus.
Venus Williams of U.S. plays a return to Serena Williams of U.S. during their women's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
AP
Serena Williams of U.S. plays a return to Venus Williams of U.S. during their women's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
AP
Serena Williams of U.S. reacts while playing sister Venus Williams of U.S. during their women's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Serena Williams of U.S. plays a return to Venus Williams of U.S. during their women's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
AP
Venus Williams of U.S. plays a return to Serena Williams of U.S. during their women's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
AP
Serena Williams of U.S. plays a return to Venus Williams of U.S. during their women's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
AP
Venus Williams of U.S. plays a return to Serena Williams of U.S. during their women's singles final on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
AP
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Venus Williams of USA plays a forehand during the women's singles final match against Serena Williams of USA on Day Twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 4, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Carl De Souza/Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Venus Williams
Getty Images
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Venus Williams of USA plays a backhand during the women's singles final match against Serena Williams of USA on Day Twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 4, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Carl De Souza/Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Venus Williams
Getty Images
US Serena Williams returns a ball to US Venus Williams during their final match on Day 12 at the 2009 Wimbledon tennis championships at the All England Club on July 4, 2009. The event, the third Grand Slam tournament of 2009, runs from June 22 to July 5, 2009. AFP PHOTO / GLYN KIRK (Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
"She played great, especially in the tiebreak," Venus said. "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. I played a good tiebreak, but she played a great one."
Serena now has an 11-10 edge overall and is 6-2 in Grand Slam finals against her sister. She currently holds three of the major titles — the U.S. Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon — and is one Slam win away from tying Billie Jean King at sixth all-time.
"It's unbelievable," Serena said. "I feel like now I'm just not even in a competition of how many I can win. It's just now I'm looking at the next goal of someone like Billie Jean King, who is completely my idol. To get to her level and have 12 would be even better."
Serena said she found no particular significance in stopping her sister from taking a third straight Wimbledon crown.
"She's won seven Grand Slams on her own, five being Wimbledon," Serena said. "You can't compare that, because she's a living legend right now."
Despite her dominance on the big stages, Serena will stay at No. 2 in the world rankings behind Dinara Safina. The Russian reached the top spot this year even though she has never won a Grand Slam title. She was routed 6-1, 6-0 by Venus in the Wimbledon semifinals.
"I think if you hold three Grand Slam titles maybe you should be No. 1, but not on the WTA Tour obviously," Serena said.
"My motivation is maybe just to win another Grand Slam and stay No. 2, I guess," she added with a laugh. "I'd rather definitely be No. 2 and hold three Grand Slams in the past year than be No. 1 and not have any."
Serena became the second player in the Open era to win the Wimbledon women's title after overcoming a match point, having done so in the semifinals against Elena Dementieva. The only other player to do it was Venus, who saved one in the 2005 final against Lindsay Davenport.
On a sunny, breezy day, there was little to separate the sisters for most of the first set, though Venus failed to convert her chances to break in the eighth game. Serving at 15-40, Serena saved the first break point with a second serve into the body that forced a backhand error from Venus. On the second, Venus went for a forehand passing shot that landed just wide of the line. Serena then hit back-to-back aces to take the game.
Serena dominated the tiebreaker, increasing her intensity and grunting volume and pushing Venus around the court. Serena closed it out in style, flicking a picture-perfect topspin lob that floated over Venus and into the back of the court for a winner.
Venus looked flat and demoralized in the second set and, from 2-2, Serena ran off the last four games. The match was essentially over when Venus double-faulted on break point in the sixth game to hand her sister a 4-2 lead. Two games later, Serena failed to convert on three match points before Venus ended the contest with a final backhand error.
"Serena and I, we both expect from ourselves great results," Venus said, refusing to reflect on what the siblings have accomplished. "At the moment, we're just pushing for everything that we can. And maybe when all these moments are over, then we can look back and kind of be amazed."
The men's final is Sunday, with Roger Federer seeking his record 15th Grand Slam title in a matchup with two-time runner-up Andy Roddick. Federer, a five-time Wimbledon champion, has a 18-2 record against the American. It's the seventh straight Wimbledon final and 20th major championship match overall for Federer.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
It is really boring with the two Sisters always winning, for whatever reason. Maybe we should have weight classes as they do in boxing?? When Billie Jean King and Chris Evert were the scene, it was just never this boring. I haven'********* Tennis since they always win.
this website is worthy of worship! Please check out ~~B l a c k W h i t e l o v i n g.c O m~~__ where you can meet the wealthy singles,sexy beauties and even hot celebs .Hook up sexy partner easier and more effective! What are you waiting for? Just Sign up and hook up the sexy beauties now!
I will be so pleased when women's tennis gets back on track, the players once again appropriate role model graceful, slim, lithe and fit, not Pillsbury Doughboy bloated/overweight, pumped on growth hormones, LOUD and ungracious. I won'******* any match in which the sisters play, never mind how hard they slam. This is not about race; it's about gracious court deportment and demeanor befitting a genteel sport. At my tennis club, if your court behavior is as these women's, other players complain, and you are asked either to stop it, or leave.
These idiots are welcomed to continue blogging out their frustrations, while The Williams' Sisters continue to excel. Do you think they care? Funny how they don't have a clue who you are... (end of story)
nike shoes,touch nike,nike,nikes,nike shoe,nike sneaker,nike athletic,
nike air max,air max 2009,air max 360,air max,air max 90,air max 91,air max 95,nike air max shoes,air max 97,air max iii,air max ltd,air max tn,air max 180,air max 2003,air max 1,air max 2, airmax,
nike sb dunks,men mid dunk,men high dunk,nike dunk sb,men high dunk sb,nike dunk sb shoes,dunk sb shoes,mens high dunk,men low dunk,sb dunks,men low dunk sb,dunk sb,women high dunk,women low dunk,mens mid dunk,mens low dunk,
nike basketball shoes,allen iverson shoes,carmelo anthony shoes,chris paul shoes,dwight howard shoes,gilbert arenas shoes,kevin durant shoes,kobe bryant shoes,lebron james shoes,steve nash shoes,tim duncan shoes,tony parker shoes,tracy mcgrady shoes,nike basketball, kevin durant,carmelo anthony,usa team basketball shoes,allen iverson,chris paul,dwight howard,gilbert arenas,kobe bryant,lebron james,steve nash,tim duncan,tony parker,tracy mcgrady,usa team basketball,basketball shoes
~~B l a c k W h i t e l o v i n g.c O m~~__ where you can meet the wealthy singles,sexy beauties and even hot celebs .Hook up sexy partner easier and more effective! What are you waiting for? Just Sign up and hook up the sexy beauties now!
I won'******* any match in which the sisters play, never mind how hard they slam.
This is not about race; it's about gracious court deportment and demeanor befitting a genteel sport.
At my tennis club, if your court behavior is as these women's, other players complain, and you are asked either to stop it, or leave.