No question, this was a genuine contest

From the moment the pre-match niceties were dispensed with to the instant Serena dumped a backhand into the tramlines on Venus's second match point, they wore what Americans call their game faces - with all the usual accompaniments: growls, snarls, squeals and fist pumps, writes Jon Henderson.

Thank goodness they were only rubber bullets. The Williams sisters bombarded each other with such ferocity that anything more solid might have caused lasting damage.

Defending champion Venus won - to claim the Wimbledon title for a fifth time - principally because she controlled her power just that little bit better in a buffeting wind, which did its best but not enough to spoil an excellent match.

Venus started slowly, winning only one of the first 11 points, but she showed far greater patience in the tricky conditions, regularly being prepared to pull out of serves until the breeze died. Her more disciplined approach was justly rewarded by her 7-5, 6-4 victory, which ended a sequence of five defeats by her sister in Grand Slam finals, including the losses in the 2002 and 2003 Wim? bledon title matches.

As ever, her serve, too, was a potent weapon. It was not simply the velocity - one crunching effort of 129mph broke her Wimbledon record by 2mph - but also the direction as she aimed continually at her sister's body. "Yeah, the body shot is my favourite here," she said. "You can't defend it." Serena even seemed a little miffed by it: "I know next time I play her what to expect."

Throughout, the siblings appeared eager to dispel any lingering doubts that they would give their all, even though Elena Dementieva, the Russian player who raised the possibility that they might not, protested she had been misunderstood. For 111 minutes it really was hard to believe Serena's assertion that Venus is "the ultimate bigger sister, almost like a mom." From the moment the pre-match niceties were dispensed with to the instant Serena dumped a backhand into the tramlines on Venus's second match point, they wore what Americans call their game faces - with all the usual accompaniments: growls, snarls, squeals and fist pumps.

Only when the hostilities were over did they revert to being the bosom buddies who share a home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Venus, who at 28 is 15 months the senior, forsook her normal victory jig and ran forward to envelop Serena in a consoling hug. She said: "You could never detract from winning a Wimbledon - so, of course, it doesn't detract from that - but the celebration wasn't so exciting because my sister had just lost. I was definitely thinking about her feelings."

Wimbledon, anyway, has the perfect answer to emotions running out of control, the presentation ceremony conducted by the Duke of Kent with patrician stolidness. Once again he handed out the goodies: the 122-year-old Venus Rosewater Dish for Venus (no relation), a smaller silver salver for Serena; a cheque for ? ï¿½750,000 for Venus,? a cheque for ? ï¿½375,000 for Serena.?

Whatever words of congratulations the Duke passed on were richly deserved. Critics have diminished the sisters' success by implying they have somehow managed it without fully engaging in the sport and that their real interests lie elsewhere. This overlooks the commitment required to turn back fiercely competitive opposition, particularly all those eastern Europeans with their - and their parents' - hunger for success. It also disregards the setbacks they have overcome that would have ended many careers: the fate of their elder half-sister Yetunde, whose death as the entirely innocent victim of a gangland shooting in Los Angeles in 2003 deeply affected them, and a series of serious injuries. Coming back to meet again in a Grand Slam final after a five-year pause is quite remarkable.

While their mother, Oracene, watched over the sisters from the stands, their father, Richard, had flown home, having said the tension was all too much for him. His daughters' tennis careers have been the major project in his life since they were small. He said before heading for the airport that, having treated the two of them even-handedly, he was intrigued by how different they had turned out, both as people and players. "When Venus is playing, you never know whether she is winning or losing," he said. "She just never lets nothing bother her." Serena, on the other hand, "could throw the racquet down and break it up. She gets to talking to herself."

This was the key to the final. Venus methodically worked her way back into contention after her ponderous start. "I expected her to play that well," Venus said. "I mean she's Serena Williams. She can pull out anything and I expected her to be all over anything I put out there." She trailed 3-1 and 4-2 in the first set and had not threatened Serena's serve when she suddenly pounced to break back in the eighth game. She broke again in the 12th to take the set. As it would at the end of the match, it was Serena's backhand that failed her at the vital moment when she failed to clear the net and sent her racquet bouncing along the baseline. No question, this was a genuine contest.

The key to the second set was the fourth game. Serena served for a 3-1 lead, after breaking in the game before in a 20-point marathon that ended with Venus, driven back beyond the baseline by the ferocity of her sister's ground strokes, dumped on the seat of her pants. Surprisingly, though, her nerve failed her and Venus punished two poor second serves to retrieve the break. Serena saved the first match point against her with an ace. On the second, she missed with her first serve. "I had a chance at a second serve, the ultimate opportunity," Venus said. "I just stayed tough and when that backhand went wide I'm thinking, 'Oh my God it's five. Wow."