Venus claims Wimbledon crown

Venus Williams has beaten her sister Serena 7-5 6-4 to win the Wimbledon women's singles title.

Serena came out all guns blazing in the first set and gained an early break of serve over her older sister, but Venus broke back to draw level and went on to break again and claim the set 7-5.

But four-time champion Venus was unable to repeat the trick in her next service game, saving six break points but slipping over beyond the baseline on the seventh to give Serena the advantage.

That game had taken 14 minutes and many others were proving long, drawn-out battles from the baseline as the siblings traded thunderous serves and groundstrokes.

Venus immediately broke back to level at 2-2 and the next five games also went with serve until Venus forged two match points on her sister's serve in the tenh game.

Serena saved the first with a thumping ace but an errant backhand on the second gave Venus her fifth Wimbledon title in one hour and 51 minutes.

The sisters were head and shoulders above the competition at this year's tournament - making a mockery of their status as sixth and seventh seeds respectively.

All four top women's seeds tumbled out at the All England Club before the quarter-finals for the first time in the tournament's history.

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