Venus Williams won the 2008 Wimbledon women’s singles final match against her sister, Serena Williams at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 5, 2008 in London, England. It was Venus Williams’ fifth Wimbledon title.

Sisters for life and doubles partners later in the afternoon, Venus and Serena Williams put most of that aside for nearly two hours on Saturday at Wimbledon, smacking serves and ground strokes in each other’s direction with a vengeance and an accuracy that have often been lacking in their previous family reunions.

It had been five years since they squared off in a Grand Slam singles final, and the long wait produced one of their most consistently intense and entertaining matches despite the gusty conditions that often made Centre Court feel more like the front deck of a ship.

But there is still no doubt about which Williams sister has the best record at Wimbledon.

Despite a ferocious start from Serena, Venus absorbed the shock and gradually imposed her long-limbed presence on her favorite tennis court. Her 7-5, 6-4 victory gave her a fifth Wimbledon singles title, leaving Serena with two.

“I can’t believe it’s five, but when you’re in the final against Serena Williams, five seems so far away from that first point,” Venus said in her postmatch remarks to the crowd. “She played so awesome. It was really a task to beat her.”

Although Serena hugged her older sister at the net and was gracious during the ceremony, this defeat was clearly a major blow. Serena has worked herself into fine shape this season, but she has not won a Grand Slam singles title since her surprise run at the 2007 Australian Open.

“I don’t think I’m satisfied with the way I played today,” Serena said. “For me, there’s nothing to be satisfied about.”

Venus Williams and Serena Williams during the women’s doubles Final match against Lisa Raymond  and Samantha Stosur

Serena was feeling cheerier by the end of the night, after she and Venus won their third women’s doubles title here by beating Lisa Raymond of the United States and Samantha Stosur of Australia, 6-2, 6-2.

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Serena beat Venus in their previous Wimbledon finals in 2002 and 2003. But the record books now make it clear that the All England Club is more Venus’s stamping ground than hers. This was Venus’s second straight title and her third in four years, but it was the number five that popped into her head immediately after she had secured the match on a backhand error by Serena.

“I think definitely winning this tournament so many times definitely puts you in the stratosphere, to be honest, just because of what this tournament means,” Venus said. “I think had I had this achievement at any other tournament, it would have been awesome, but not nearly the same meaning as at Wimbledon.”

Source: All-Williams Wimbledon Final Is All Venus

See also:

• Venus Williams defeats sister Serena in Wimbledon final

Photo credit: Getty Images

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Here is video of the final championship point between Venus Williams and Serena Williams.

Video & Photos: Venus Williams Wins Wimbledon 2008 against Serena Williams