Venus Victorious With 5th Wimbledon Championship, Defeats Serena!

July 5th, 2008

London, England

The third Williams Final at Wimbledon and the first since 2003 was a competetive and close match. Venus was looking for her 5th Wimbledon championship while Serena was searching for her 3rd. It would be an up and down match, especially in the first set, but only one could come out the victor.

Serena Williams started on Centre Court with amazing precision and power. She played well and was moving well, getting up to an early 2-0 lead. She even won 10 out of the first 12 points played. Venus on the other hand looked nervous and uneasy as balls kept flying past her. It wasn't until Serena was serving at 4-3, that Venus broke back and leveled the match. From there on the roles were reversed and Venus looked more comfortable, with Serena faltering. Venus moved up in the first set and broke Serena again at 6-5 to take the set, 7-5. From then on, Serena really seemed uneasy with herself.

The second set, Serena once again broke to take a 2-1 lead, but she couldn't hold it and lost her service game right after. Venus moved ahead and started serving better and moving better. Serena on the other hand seemed to toss in more errors. When it came to be 5-4 for Venus, Serena had to serve to stay in the match. Saving one championship point at 15-40, Serena had to save another. It was a nice rally, but Serena went for too much and hit wide, allowing Venus to capture her 7th Grand Slam and 5th Wimbledon championship. For Serena it was her first trip past a Grand Slam Quarter-Final since the 2007 Australian Open. Now, the Williams sisters will try to take the Women's Doubles at Wimbledon later on this day.

Looking forward to the summer, the women will have to battle it out in Montreal and the California summer hardcourts. Also with the added pressure of the Olympics, and then the US Open, it should be a hot summer for the leading ladies of tennis.

Results:

Centre Court:

(7)Venus Williams d. (6)Serena Williams - 7-5, 6-4

Top 10 Seeds:

1. Ana Ivanovic - Lost Round 3 (Zheng)

2. Jelena Jankovic - Lost Round of 16 (Tanasugarn)

3. Maria Sharapova - Lost Round 2 (Kudryavtseva)

4. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Lost Round of 16 (Radwanska)

5. Elena Dementieva - Lost Semi-Finals (V. Williams)

6. Serena Williams - Lost Finals (V. Williams)

7. Venus Williams - CHAMPION

8. Anna Chakvetadze - Lost Round of 16 (Vaidasova)

9. Dinara Safina - Lost Round 3 (Peer)

10. Daniela Hantuchova - Lost Round 2 (Kleybanova)