Serena hits Venus to win third crown in Wimbledon

London

Serena Williams celebrated American Independence Day by beating sister Venus 7-6 6-2 to win her third Wimbledon title.

Once five-times champion Venus dumped a backhand into the net on Serena’s fourth match point, the younger of the Williams sisters sank to her knees after finally winning her third singles crown at the grasscourt major following a six-year gap.

Serena Williams of the US lifts the trophy after beating her sister Venus during women’s singles final match at the Wimbledon tennis championships. [PHOTO: REUTERS]

The 27-year-old quickly got back up on her feet to embrace Venus and then turned to lap up the applause of the 15,000 fans who had packed into a sun-kissed Centre Court.

"I feel so amazing. I’m so blessed... I can’t believe I’m holding it," said a beaming Serena as she clutched the large Venus Rosewater dish yesterday.

"It’s named for Venus and she always wins. It hasn’t settled in that I’ve won yet."

Venus, who had been bidding to become the first woman to win a hat-trick of titles since Steffi Graf in 1993, paid tribute to her sister.

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"She had an answer to everything. She played the best tennis today so congratulations," said the 29-year-old, who was set to be back on Centre Court later Saturday for the doubles final with her sister.

"I don’t think the loss has settled in yet so I’m still smiling. I’ve had so many great times here and of course I’m looking forward to next year and the doubles final."

There could hardly have been a better way to mark the Fourth of July. Yet Serena so nearly missed the party. In Thursday’s semi-final she had been match-point down against Elena Dementieva before mounting a remarkable comeback.

That great escape appeared to have energised the younger of the Williams sister and she produced a superb display of power and aggression to win her 11th grand slam title.

As has been the case in many contests between Venus and Serena, yesterday’s showdown turned out to be a passionless affair and the crowd struggled to get involved during the 97-minute final.

Meanwhile, the numbers are stacked against Andy Roddick when he faces Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final today, but the American is a slicker package than the one beaten by the Swiss in two previous showpiece encounters here.

Federer holds a jaw-dropping 18-2 career advantage over Roddick and comfortably beat the 26-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska in the 2004 and 2005 finals, with Swiss artistry generally trumping American grit each time they have met.

— Reuters