London, July 4 (DPA) Serena Williams defeated her sister Venus 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 Saturday to claim her third Wimbledon title and end a trophy dry spell on the grass which stretched back to 2003.
The younger of the American sibling pair claimed her 11th major to double her Grand Slam total for 2009 after starting the year with an Australian Open trophy.
Serena, seeded second to her 29-year-old sister’s third, improved her record against her relative in Grand Slam finals to 6-2.
The victory, which required four match points to complete, reversed the outcome of last year’s all-Williams final in which Venus claimed her fifth title at the All England club.
Serena now stands 11-10 in her rivalry with her sister and has won three of the last four majors.
“It feels so amazing to have the trophy again,” said the winner of a contest lasting for just under 90 minutes. “I can’t believe I’m
holding it and Venus isn’t.
“It hasn’t settled in yet that I won.”
The defeat marked the first time since 2007 at Wimbledon that Venus had lost a set after establishing a run of 34 straight.
“Today Serena was too good she had an answer for everything,” said the elder sister.
“Serena played the best tennis today. The loss hasn’t’ set in, I’m still smiling. I’ve had so many great times here and am looking forward to next year here. I love what I do and I love playing these finals.”
The first set went into a tiebreaker with Serena taking it on a lob winner. In the second, the younger sibling broke away for 5-2 as the form of Venus dropped.
But the holder saved three match points before finally netting a backhand, her 18th unforced error.