Serena Wins Third Wimbledon Title

Venus' Quest for Three-Peat Denied

Venus Williams, and her younger sibling Serena, have now stared across the twine at each other a grand total of 20 times on a professional tennis court. Before this year's Wimbledon Women's final, the record stood at 10 wins for Venus, and 10 wins for Serena. A more perfect setting for a tie-break could not be imagined than centre court at the All England Club.

The Williams Sisters' Wimbledon Dominance

It is the unfortunate inevitability when such talent graces multiple members of the same family: sooner or later they will have to play each other. And while Serena has been considered the more dominant of the two since the early aughts, Wimbledon has belonged to Venus. In no other tournament does Venus raise her level of play year after year the way she does at this event.

Venus has won the Women's Championship a grand total of five times, this year would mark her chance to capture the crown for a third year in a row. Serena had previously won Wimbledon on two occasions, earning back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003.

Wimbledon History

Wimbledon has long been considered the crown jewel of the sport. The only major competed on grass, the first championship was held at the All England Club 1877 (the event itself technically began three years earlier before the club was erected), won by local girl Lottie Dodd, the first of her five Wimbledon Championships. Dodd remains to this day, the youngest woman ever to win the crown, at 15.

Venus vs. Serena

The match began closely contested requiring a first set tie-break which Serena took 7-3. The second set opened up quickly for Serena, breaking big sisters' serve twice, and on her fourth match point, Venus deposited a backhand into the net giving Serena the 7-6, 6-2 straight set victory to claim her third Wimbledon title in six years. The 10 times the ladies championship has been contested this decade, a Williams has hoisted the aptly named Venus Rosewater dish eight times.

The Williams Legacy

When Venus first burst onto the scene in 1997, the ladies game changed forever. No longer could subtle intangibles and strategic shot making make you a winner: power entered the equation. Power is what drove the last post-power dominant tennis champion, Martina Hingis, into retirement.

However, in the 21st Century, the all too familiar lure of celebrity privilege stole two of tennis' greatest champions away from their craft. Venus is the CEO of her own design firm, V Starr interiors, as well as moonlighting as a budding fashion designer. Serena has also dabbled in fashion (she wore her own Catwoman inspired design at the US Open in 2002), and has worked with an acting coach in the hopes of sparking a career in entertainment.

Their intermittent play has even wreaked havoc with the rankings. Due to their absence the Williams' sisters have often been ranked lower than other players they are clearly superior to. One need not look farther than this year's doubles for a better example of this: the sisters mercilessly clobbered the competition, including crushing the World number 1 ranked pairing of Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 6-1, 6-2 to reach another final and a chance for their second consecutive doubles' crown.

The Williams' collective display of power and grace has been a pleasure to watch over the years. One only can sit back and reflect at what may have been had they dedicated themselves completely to tennis and tennis alone.