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Serena wins Wimbledon title again
Wimbledon, July 05: Serena Williams clinched her second straight Wimbledon crown with a three-set victory over her sister Venus.
The 4-6 6-4 6-2 win reasserted Serena's position at the top of the women's game after her defeat at the hands of Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semi-final of the French Open.
But Venus was clearly suffering from the abdominal strain that she aggravated in her semi-final against Kim Clijsters, and neither player produced their best tennis consistently.
Venus played with strapping on her left thigh and her stomach, and took an injury time-out at the start of the third set, after which her service power was clearly reduced.
But despite her problems she showed few signs of discomfort as she took advantage of a sluggish start from Serena.
Venus broke to love in the second game and held four break points in the fourth for a 4-0 lead.
But Serena staved off the double break, and, with Venus struggling to land any first serves, broke back.
Serena then appeared to be gaining the upper hand but missed her chances to break, and serving at 4-5 fell 0-40 down when she double faulted.
She saved one set-point, but gifted the set to her sister when she completely misjudged the bounce of a high ball with the court apparently at her mercy.
Both players looked nervous at this stage, and the underlying tension was evident in their play.
The second set began with three straight breaks, but Serena then picked up her game and powered to a 5-1 lead before Venus made a late rally.
She took back one break, but Serena held her nerve to send the match into a deciding set.
But Venus started the third set with an error-strewn first service game, and after being broken she left the court for a lengthy injury time-out looking visibly upset.
When she returned her groundstrokes seemed unaffected, but her serving was clearly under-strength.
And Serena clinched a second break in the seventh game and served out for victory.
Bureau Report