FanHouse Serena Williams

Quite frankly, to use her own words, Serena Williams really is the best. She said so a few months ago, when the computer dropped her from the No. 1 ranking, and then embarrassed herself a few times, even losing to a journeyman hours after her self-proclaimed greatness.

But on Saturday, she proved it. She's right. Serena beat her sister, Venus Williams, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 to win Wimbledon.

Serena is the best.

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Serena Williams won the 2009 Wimbledon women's singles final Saturday, beating older sister Venus Williams 7-6, 6-2.

"She was too good," Venus said afterward. "She had an answer for everything and she played the best tennis today. So, congratulations."

It's still a Williams sisters world. That's the big statement from Thursday, when they both won to set up the big event: an all-Williams sisters final at Wimbledon. Again.

It's always a big event when they play each other, with the discussion covering their play, their clothes, their father, their attitude and whether they're deciding in advance which one will win. (The answers are: Serena better overall, Venus classy and Serena showy, weird but successful, good at the big moments and no.)

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In a classic Wimbledon semifinal match that left both players exhausted and the spectators exhilarated, Serena Williams beat Elena Dementieva 6-7, 7-5, 8-6 to advance to the Wimbledon final.

"It was really, really tough," Williams said afterward. "Elena played so well and we gave the crowd a wonderful match."

Dementieva played very well in the early going, and it looked like it was going to be her day. She broke Williams' serve in the first game, and although Williams returned the favor in the second game, Dementieva was strong throughout, winning the first set 7-6.

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Revenge. It's the perfect time for the Williams Sisters, particularly for Serena. Who's No. 1? Dinara Safina? Right. So Serena has grumbled about it, saying everyone knows that's she's the real No. 1.

Well, now Venus and Serena are dominating Wimbledon. Venus will beat Safina in the semis on Thursday. And if Serena wins this thing over her sister (I'll take Venus), then the grudge is over. Serena is the champ and
No. 1.

Well, not quite. Safina is going to stay No. 1. But here's the weird thing: No matter what happens, Safina's lead in the computer rankings is going to increase. Does this compute? If Safina loses in the semis, and Serena wins the title, then that will be enough for Safina to pad her lead.

Huh?

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon when opponent Ana Ivanovic retired one game into the second set Monday.

Williams, seeking her sixth Wimbledon title, led 6-1, love-1 when Ivanovic called it quits.

Ivanovic took a 10-minute break during the first game of the second set to have her left thigh taped by a trainer. She returned for two more points, but after hitting a service winner to take the game, she began crying as she walked to her chair and told the umpire she was retiring.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- When Roger Federer misfired on an important shot Friday, his knees buckled and he stomped behind the baseline, miffed at his mere mortality.

The moment quickly passed, and Federer advanced to the second week at Wimbledon by beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1.

Federer lost a set for first time this week, with two errant forehands costing him the tiebreaker. That merely extended his Centre Court workout by half an hour.

Venus is not Serena. They don't dress alike, sound alike, play alike or look alike. They stand out alike, yes, because they are a novelty together, they are great and they are sisters.

But we have combined them in every way for some obvious reasons, but frankly, that's not fair to Venus.

Venus Williams is a better champion than Serena Williams. More elegant, more gracious.

On Tuesday, Venus starts defense of her title at Wimbledon, where she has a royal feel. She is the queen. And in the most elegant place in tennis, Venus stands apart.

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WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - Serena Williams has advanced to the second round of Wimbledon on Monday by beating Neuza Silva of Portugal 6-1, 7-5.

Williams breezed through the first set and then relied on her powerful serve in the second. She did not face a break point in the entire match, only losing nine points on her serve.

WIMBLEDON, England (June 17) -- Rafael Nadal's French Open stumble failed to strip him of the world No. 1 ranking, and it won't cost him the top seed at Wimbledon either.

Nadal, the tournament's defending champion, was seeded No. 1 for Wimbledon on Wednesday. Top-ranked Dinara Safina, who lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the French Open final, earned the women's No. 1 seed.

There were no big surprises when the All England Club announced the seedings for the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, which opens June 22. The draw will be released Friday.