Serena Williams fell to her knees on the grass, eyes closed, arms raised, and threw back her head. After six years, it was her turn to hold up the Venus Rosewater Dish again.

In the fourth all-Williams final at Wimbledon, Serena beat her sister Venus 7-6 (3) 6-2 on Saturday for her third title and 11th Grand Slam championship.

“It feels so amazing,” Serena said. “I’m so blessed. I feel like I shouldn’t be holding the trophy. I can’t believe I’m holding it. It’s named for Venus and she always wins.”

Serena came out on top by out-serving her big sister, lifting her game in the tie-break and dictating play throughout the second set, finally winning when five-time champion Venus slapped a backhand into the net on the fourth match point.

Serena beat Venus in the 2002 and ‘03 finals, before Venus won last year’s championship match. Venus was trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win Wimbledon three years in a row.

Muted celebrations

Still, the Williams sisters proved their dominance at the All England Club once more, winning their eighth singles title this decade. As always with Williams vs Williams matches, the celebrations were relatively muted. The sisters embraced at the net, with the 29-year-old Venus patting 27-year-old Serena on the back.

“I didn’t think about Venus at all today,” Serena said. “I just saw her as an opponent. At one point, after the first set, I looked on the side of the court at the stats, and it was like ‘Williams, Williams.’ I couldn’t figure out which was which.”

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