Williams sisters claim 3rd Wimbledon doubles title

When Venus Williams won her second match point of the day at Wimbledon, even little sister Serena could celebrate.

About 3 1/2 hours after Venus beat Serena to win the women's singles title, the Americans paired up Saturday to win their seventh Grand Slam doubles title, beating Lisa Raymond of the United States and Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-2, 6-2.

The victory improved Venus and Serena to 7-0 in Grand Slam doubles finals, and gave them their third doubles title at All England Club on the same day they played each other in their third all-in-the-family Wimbledon singles final.

"We've both worked really hard this year, and I think the results showed here, both in the singles and the doubles," Venus said after winning the Wimbledon singles title for the fifth time.

The sisters last won the doubles title at Wimbledon in 2002, the first of two straight years in which Serena beat Venus in the singles final. On Saturday, Venus beat Serena 7-5, 6-4 on Centre Court before the pair returned to the same stadium for yet another victorious Grand Slam final.

In the doubles match, Venus and Serena broke their opponents twice in each set, showing little emotion throughout and only whispering tactics to each other with their hands covering their mouths. Venus, with tape near her right knee, served out to win each set.

When Venus' backhand lob sailed high into the darkening sky in the final game, both Stosur and Raymond watched the ball land on the baseline for the final point of the match.

Serena, standing near the net with her racket at the ready, didn't even know if the ball landed in. Once she realized she, too, claimed a Grand Slam title on the second-to-last-day of the 2008 tournament, she raised her arms in celebration and hugged her older sister.

The pair declined to speak to reporters after the doubles match.

The Williams sisters have entered 34 tournaments as a team and won 11 titles, including the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Venus first won both singles and doubles titles at Wimbledon in 2000, and Serena matched that in 2002.

Including the prize money awarded to the singles champion and runner-up, along with what they earned for the doubles championship, the Williams family netted more than $2.5 million Saturday.

Via associatedpress

Tennis ace Serena Williams holds court at Miami Beach in a tiny bikini

After serving up yet another tournament victory in Florida, Serena Williams enjoyed a well-deserved day of sun and fun at Miami beach yesterday.

The star looked relaxed as she showed of her athletic physique in very skimpy black bikini while cooling off in the surf.

Her mood couldn't have been more different on Saturday as she battled it out on the court in a tense match against Jelena Jankovic.

She smashed her racket on the stadium court at one point during the game before recovering to defeat the fourth-seed 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.

The win claimed her fifth Sony Ericsson Open title - a tie with Steffi Graf for the most women's singles titles at Key Biscayne.

The 26-year-old was thrilled to be matching her hero's record, saying after the match: "I love Steffi Graf. She's a great champion and was my role model.

"To even be compared to her is awesome."

Williams', who was last year romantically linked to rapper Common, has long been criticised for devoting too energy on her pursuits away from the court, including fashion design.

But she insists tennis is once again her top priority.

She says with a laugh: "I wasn't making as much money, so I've got to go back to the bread and butter."

"I feel like all I want to do is play tennis."

Via dailymail.co.uk

A Williams in a bikini? Life couldn't be Serena

Melbourne´s summer of tennis hasn't officially started until Maria Sharapova has posed with a koala or one of the Williams sisters has been pictured in a bikini.

Consider, therefore, this snap of Serena Williams to be game on.

The 26-year-old tennis champion and part-time designer isn't backward in coming forward when it comes to her fashion sense.

Tennis lovers will remember the leather-look catsuit she wore at the 2002 US Open, the dinner plate-sized "Serena" earrings she sported at last year's Sony Ericsson Open and her preference for hot pink, for lime green, for flesh-baring, bling-tastic excess on centre court. As the Australian Open's defending champion, she can also take some pride in her latest sartorial statement — a custom-made bikini in which she was snapped in Perth just before her new year's Hopman Cup victory.

Yes, Serena: right now, it's all about you.

Her stunning triumph at Melbourne Park last year remains one of the most remarkable comebacks in recent history after she entered the tournament a rank outsider and defeated Maria Sharapova for the title despite being written-off as unfit and overweight.

Now six kilograms lighter thanks to a rigorous off-season training regime, Williams, currently ranked seventh in the world, is in her finest shape of recent memory.

Not that she aspires to be a slip of a thing like rivals Sharapova or Justine Henin.

Her ample chest and muscular behind have caused an ongoing commotion since she joined the tennis pro tour in 1995, but Williams has remained defiantly proud of her curves, posing for Sports Illustrated in a bikini and last year posing naked — save for a pair of silver Moschino heels and a flower — for Jane magazine.

She showed her softer side last week in an online posting about a broken heart, believed to be over actor and hip-hop artist Jackie Long with whom she recently split.

"And then it happens … what you have been most afraid of. What you always suspected would happen one day sooner or later," she wrote. "He stops calling."

Revenge for a jilted tennis champion just might be a dish best served posing in a bikini while holding aloft another Australian Open trophy.

Via theage.com.au