FanHouse VenusWilliams

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.

---

---

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."

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) -- Venus Williams has powered her way into the second week of Wimbledon, defeating Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-0, 6-4 Saturday to reach the fourth round.

Williams is trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win three consecutive titles at the All England Club. The No. 3-seeded American is bidding for her sixth Wimbledon championship overall.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - Five points into her opening match at Wimbledon, Venus Williams slipped and went sprawling on the grass she loves.

The five-time champion recovered from her stumble at the start Tuesday and defeated Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-2.

It was Williams' first appearance on Centre Court since the 2008 final, when she beat sister Serena for her second Wimbledon title in a row.

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.

---

---

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.

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.

---

---

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) -- Serena Williams retained the No. 1 world ranking by being the best player in her family Thursday night.

Williams defeated older sister Venus 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open. It was their 20th sibling showdown, and each has won 10 times.

Serena needed to reach the final to retain the top ranking she has held since Feb. 2.

"I'm excited," Serena said. "I was thinking I'd love to remain No. 1. I think I was more happy about that than winning the match."

NEW YORK -- FanHouse was all credentialed up for Monday night's BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup. From Bill Clinton's speech, to what Serena's triumph over her sister means moving forward, here's a list of 20 observations from a night of tennis involving Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams and Venus Williams at New York's Madison Square Garden.