WIMBLEDON, England — In the face of wildly gusting winds and her most feared opponent, Venus Williams was forced to produce some of the best shots of her career — including a record 129-mph serve — to win her fifth Wimbledon championship on Saturday.
But she refrained from displaying her signature move after the 7-5, 6-4 triumph, choosing not to jump up and down on Centre Court in celebration as she has in years past.
Venus’ younger sister Serena was across the net, after all. And Serena, who revels in her role as the spoiled baby of the Williams family, has always taken losses hard.
So Venus met her courtside with an embrace, trying as best she could to rein in the euphoria she felt.
“I’m definitely more in tune with my sister’s feelings because one of us has to win, and one of us has to lose,” Venus explained afterward. “The celebration isn’t as exciting because my sister just lost.”
But the awkward family dynamics did nothing to diminish the grandeur of Venus’ achievement in hoisting Wimbledon’s traditional silver salver, prophetically named the Venus Rosewater dish in 1886, for a fifth time.
Only two women have won more Wimbledon singles titles in the open era, Martina Navratilova (nine) and Steffi Graf (seven). Navratilova looked on from the Royal Box on Saturday as Venus took another step toward equaling her record. So did six-time Wimbledon singles champion Billie Jean King, a mentor, friend and occasional coach of both Williams sisters since they emerged from the public courts of Compton, Calif., schooled in the game by their self-taught father, who always believed his girls would change the face of the game.
Together, the Williams sisters did just that, winning nine of 13 major titles contested in one stretch between 2000 and 2003.
They brought unprecedented power to the women’s game, blasting serves at a pace that rivaled many men on the pro tour. They rewrote the sport’s conventional playbook, attacking at every opening rather than hugging the baseline and patiently swapping shots until their opponent erred. And they brought a new demographic with them — fans who cheered their colorful outfits, charismatic personalities and the triumph against the odds that their victories represented.
But interest in tennis waned after the sisters slipped from their perch atop the sport. Other women filled the vacuum, including a pair of Belgians who shot up the world rankings only to retire before age 26, followed by a parade of hard-hitting Russians and Serbs. But none caught hold of American sports fans the way Venus and Serena had.
Saturday’s Wimbledon championship was the first time the Williams sisters had met in the finals of a Grand Slam event since 2003. Neither was seeded among the top five. But after suffering early-round defeats in last month’s French Open, both arrived at Wimbledon healthy and hungry to reclaim their place among the best.
Venus, 28, had extra motivation. She was eager to defend her 2007 Wimbledon title. And she was equally eager to chip away at Serena’s 5-1 career record against her in their previous Grand Slam finals. Venus hadn’t defeated Serena in the finals of a major tournament, in fact, since the 2001 U.S. Open.
Through the tournament’s first six rounds, no woman came close to beating a Williams. Neither sister lost a set entering Saturday’s final.
But Venus started poorly, losing her serve in the first game and trailing 1-3 after just a few minutes.
Serena, 26, was the fearless one, blasting shots past her older sister without remorse. She drilled a shot squarely into Venus’ gut at one point. And she shouted “Come on!” to pump herself up after taking a 4-2 lead.
Unlike some of their previous matches, there was no doubting the level of desire and effort on display. It was full tilt.
Serena brandished more brute force, serving more aces and tallying more outright winners. It’s doubtful more power has ever been packed into a frilly white tennis dress, in fact. Serena was also the more demonstrative, clenching her fist after particularly great shots and groaning and grunting throughout.
Venus was the steadier player. And as the first set ground on, her fortunes improved.
She broke Serena to level the score at 4. And she broke her again to win the first set.
The shift in momentum rattled Serena, and her groundstrokes started missing their mark.
Against any other opponent, Serena could have looked to the players’ guest box for a sign of encouragement from her mother, Oracene Price, or her sisters — a clenched fist, perhaps, or a simple nod.
But not on this day.
“It’s hard to look up there because I don’t know what they’re thinking,” Serena said.
It was hard for the sisters’ guests, too, who included their respective agents and hitting partners.
“There wasn’t much clapping,” said David Witt, who trains with Venus. “There were no, ‘Come on’s.’ There wasn’t really much talking. We love both of them. It was just tough.”
So the sisters played on, looking inside for their strength.
And on this day, Venus found a bit more — not because she ignored the fact that Serena stood across the net, but because she honored it.
“At no point am I ever able to forget that it’s Serena because I have the ultimate respect for her game, and I have a lot of respect for her serve,” Venus said. “If I was playing anyone else, I wouldn’t have to face what I had to face today. It’s impossible to forget.”
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