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The International Tennis Federation has completed its two-month "investigation'' into Serena Williams' f-bomb-laced, threatening tirade toward a line judge on worldwide TV at the U.S. Open. Her "punishment'' should come Monday or Tuesday.

I would give just about anything to see the notes from this "investigation.'' The quote-marks show that this was just a theoretical thing, anyway. As in, it took two months to find "justice.''

This whole thing has been a sham. Will Williams be suspended from the next major, the Australian Open in January?

"I don't think [an Australian Open ban] would make much sense, because it would penalize the people handing out the punishment,'' ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti said. "For the grand slam committee to exclude her from a grand slam doesn't seem likely.

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REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy (AP) -- Alexa Glatch and Melanie Oudin lost in straight sets Saturday to give Italy a 2-0 lead over the United States in the Fed Cup final.

Glatch lost to Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-1, and Francesca Schiavone rallied after a two-hour rain delay to defeat Oudin 7-6 (2), 6-2 on the outdoor red clay court at the Rocco Polimeni club.

"She came out and started playing a lot better and wasn't missing anything when she came back out," Oudin said. "She changed her game a little bit. I did the best I could."

Reverse singles and doubles were scheduled for Sunday in the best-of-five series.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- The Williams sisters will end their season with another title matchup.

Venus Williams defeated Jelena Jankovic 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 Saturday in one semifinal at the Sony Ericsson Championships. Serena Williams won the other when Caroline Wozniacki quit because of an abdominal injury while trailing 6-4, 0-1.

Serena, who secured the year-end No. 1 ranking this week, is returning to the final of the WTA Tour's season-ending championships for the first time since 2004. She was knocked out in the group stage the last two years, but was the only player to go undefeated through the round-robin rounds this time.

NEW YORK -- It's amazing how fast you get old in tennis. Not that it comes too soon, though there's that, too. But it comes in a hurry, out of nowhere.

In the real world, it comes gradually. On the tennis court, the tiniest of precision goes, and, snap, you are old.

And that brings me to what we saw from Venus Williams on Sunday, losing to Kim Clijsters in the oddest of matches, 6-0, 0-6, 6-4 in the fourth round of the U.S. Open.

Williams was a 29-year-old with a heavily supported, swollen left knee, struggling to move, missing some of the easiest volleys.

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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."

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.

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