Venus Williams survived a fierce onslaught from Serena Williams to win her fifth Wimbledon singles title on Saturday, finally subduing her younger sister 7-5, 6-4.

Venus fought back from a break down in both sets to trump her sister in a high-quality contest on a windswept Centre Court. A scooped backhand wide from Serena handed Venus victory following an absorbing battle lasting one hour and 51 minutes.

In her moment of triumph, a beaming Venus quickly ran to the net to offer her sibling a consolation embrace. “I can’t believe it’s five (titles). But when you’re in the final against Serena Williams, five seems so far away. She played so awesome, it was really a test,” the 28-year-old American said after successfully defending her title. “Last year four was incredible but five is monumental.”

The American siblings met in a Grand Slam showpiece for the seventh time although the last time they clashed in a major final was at Wimbledon five years ago when Serena won a subdued battle against an unfit Venus.

Saturday’s victory also allowed Venus to gain sweet revenge. She had beaten Serena at the 2001 US Open but lost the five finals since and trailed their overall head-to-heads 7-8.

On Saturday, though, the sun was shining down on Venus. Serena, 26 and 15 months younger than her sister, began the final in ominous fashion producing a series of searing service returns to break the seventh seed in the opening game.

... contd.