Impossible to predict a Winner

There weren't any hairpin turns in the road, as there usually are when Venus plays Serena. How many times have you seen one sister dominate an opening set and then, inexplicably, go into the tank in the second while the other sister looked nothing like the stiff she was in the first.

This time, however, Serena turned up on Centre Court with the far better baseline game and her serve was just about untouchable, except for two break points she fended off in the opening set -- one on a horrible gaffe by Venus.

Does 31-2 on first serves and 15-6 on seconds adequately explain how tough Serena was when the balls were in her hands? I'll do the math for you. She was 46-8 overall on serve in this match and 16-1 on first serve in the second set. Dominance.

Venus? She looked strong and confident in the beginning, even pumping up the second serve she had been simply spinning safely in during her six-match march to the final. But after those lost break points, which would have left her serving for the opening set, she slipped into a steady decline.

This was a surprise result. Serena had some struggles in this tournament -- a bit dicey in a second-round straight set win over Roberta Vinci of Italy and having to fend off a match point in the semis against Elena Dementieva, surviving on a backhand volley that slapped the net and flopped over, unplayable.

Meanwhile, Venus had lost only 19 games in six matches. She looked spectacular in every phase of the game and seemed to have made a masterful decision to slow her second serves from the low to mid-90 mph range from previous tournaments to the mid- to high-80s for Wimbledon, in order to cut down on double faults. It had worked brilliantly for six match. She had hit only 10 doubles coming into the final, but that tactic wasn't going to work against her sister for one clear reason.

Serena Williams devours slow second serves. And as Serena cranked up the pressure on Venus' seconds late in this match, Venus collapsed. The key moment came with Venus serving at 2-3 in the second set. She spun one second serve in at 83 mph and another, incredibly, at 63 mph. Serena crushed both balls and, on break point -- feeling the heat -- Venus double-faulted long.

Serena held to 5-3, then won her third Wimbledon title (and first since 2003) on a fourth match point, on yet another inscrutable Venus mistake -- a simple backhand from the middle of the court that she slammed into the net.

Of course they don't cut similar figures on court. Venus is tall and slender, Serena squatty with a heavily muscled lower body. But there really are no contrasting styles in the way they play. Both have big serves. Both are out there to smash and grab. You don't get a lot of finesse from either.

But there does appear to be an emotional difference that has evolved over the years. When the money is on the table, Serena is usually much better and claiming the pot. With this victory, she is 11-3 in Grand Slam finals. Venus is 7-7.

A few other numbers: Serena now leads the head-to-head 11-10 and she has a 6-2 lead over Venus in Grand Slam finals, a 7-4 lead in all Grand Slam matches and a 7-3 lead in all tournament finals.

The women began this match a bit nervously, though there wasn't any chattering teeth. It wasn't that tentative, but more like natural big-stage, big-match jitters. After three games both had settled in to play an extraordinary first set.

The critical moments came on those two break points for Venus in the eighth game. She had a open court for a forehand cross-court pass and never really properly set herself. She blasted the ball out to leave Serena at 30-40 and then the younger sister exploded a pinpoint second serve up the middle that forced an error and helped save that game.

It was Venus' last sniff at taking control. In the tiebreak, she went down 1-3 on her serve when Serena hit yet another strong return to force an error. Then, serving at 6-3, Serena won the opening set with one of the few finesse shots of this match.

She had been left semi-defenseless when her forehand popped up off the net cord, leaving Venus a chance to take control of the point. Venus hit an approach deep but Serena, her right foot flying up to keep her balance, put her racket on a backhand lob that floated down a foot inside the baseline. Venus could only watch it and head for her changeover chair. Forty minutes later, they were hugging at the net and the red carpet was rolling out for the duke of Earl or the baron of beef, or whoever presents the trophy to the winner.

At least for a day, and hopefully for a lot longer, women's tennis looks a lot more enticing that it has since Justine Henin quit the game 16 months ago.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Charles Bricker can be reached at bricker@tennisnews.com

Charles Bricker