FanHouse SerenaWilliams

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."

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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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.

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.

PARIS (AP) -- Serena Williams was sure the ball went off her opponent's arm, a no-no in tennis. The opponent, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, insisted the ball went off her racket.

Williams accused Martinez Sanchez of ``cheating.'' Martinez Sanchez thought that was a ``stupid'' thing for Williams to say.

Then consider that the point in question helped Martinez Sanchez win the first set of their French Open match Saturday. Oh, and that Williams had a coughing fit during a third-set changeover. All in all, what eventually became a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory for Williams stands as the latest example of the athlete/actress' penchant for theatrics.

It wasn't just that Venus Williams lost in the early rounds of the French Open Friday to someone most people have never heard of. That happens.

It was that she lost the first set 6-0. It was that she didn't know where the ball was going when she hit it.

It was that she was terrible.

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Klara Zakopalova? This could have been a disaster for Serena Williams. She nearly had the worst moment of her career Tuesday in the first round of the French Open, but she did manage to beat Zakapalova.

That's right, THE Klara Zakopalova, who is ranked 100th in the world, and appeared to be about one-half of Williams' size.

"I guess she made a mistake," Willliams said to ESPN analyst Pam Shriver after finally winning on her ninth match point. "I guess that's what I needed to win that match."