Serena Williams won the women’s singles championship at Wimbledon and her sister, Venus Williams, was her runner up but the ladies were not content to let their winning streak end there.  Yesterday, the two paired up to take the top prize in the women’s doubles final.

image: TSN

The American tennis stars beat Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (4), 6-4 to clinch their fourth Wimbledon title together.  “There’s nothing like winning a title with your sister,” said Serena. “It’s really a good feeling. I’m really excited to have doubles titles.  I rack ‘em up.”

“One out of two’s not bad,” Venus said. “I really wanted to win the singles, but they’re two separate events. If I won the singles and not the doubles, it’s still not the same.  I wanted my name on the trophy so one out of two’s not bad.”

I know that some people might complain about the domination of the Williams sisters but I think it brings excitement to the sport.   Congratulations on all your success at Wimbledon this weekend, Venus and Serena!

For the eighth time in 10 years, one of the Williams sisters has been named the women’s Wimbledon champion.  At the All England Club today, Serena Williams beat Venus Williams 7-6 (3), 6-2 and won her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam championship.

image: Zuma Press

I’m sure it’s strange to play against each other (and even difficult since they are both so skilled and competitive) but I’m also sure that it felt great for Serena to beat her big sister in the fourth all-Williams final.

Venus could have become the first woman to win the tournament for three years in a row since the 1991-1993 winning streak of Steffi Graf.  This is Serena’s third win in London and her first in six years.  After falling to her knees in celebration, Serena hugged her sister at the net.

image: TSN

“It feels so amazing,” she said. “I feel so blessed. I feel like I shouldn’t be holding the trophy. It’s named for Venus and she always wins.”

Congratulations, Serena!

It will be a one-two finish for the Williams sisters as Venus Williams and Serena Williams square off in the ladies final at Wimbledon for the fourth time on Saturday.  It feels like a repeat of last years finals.  Venus won 7-5, 6-4 so I’m wondering if kid sister, Serena, will top her this year.

image: Zuma Press

Venus took down Dinara Safina in a predictable semifinal match. Venus Williams has won 35 straight sets for an incredible record – she hasn’t lost on Centre Court since 2004.  That’s unbelievable!  Meanwhile, 23-year-old Safina incurred 16 unforced errors in the lopsided 6-1, 6-0 loss. At least it was over quickly – Venus destroyed the world No.1 in just 51 minutes!

The battle between Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva was a lot more interesting.  While the pair traded breaks in the first couple games and then went head-to-head for the rest of the thrilling match.  Right down to the final set, the intensity was incredible and it looked like Dementieva might take it after Williams double faulted but in the end, Williams walked away with a 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 8-6 victory over the Olympic gold medalist.

The Williams sisters, who will meet for the 21st time, have dominated the finals at Wimbledon for seven of the last nine years.  I’m sure it will be an amazing match!

For the first time, Wimbledon has had to ask employees and personnel to stay away from the Championships if they have a fever, sore throat, cough or body aches.  I have to say that I’m somewhat appalled that you even have to tell people since this seems like common sense – if you are unwell, stay home and don’t risk infecting others, especially at large sporting events.

Now, because the ball boys and girls have reported flu-like symptoms, the top players have been warned to be on high alert.  Of course, to add to the drama, the announcement came on the same day that a “nine-year-old girl became the third person to contract the [H1N1] virus and die in Britain.”  In case you are unfamiliar with the technical name, H1N1 is what many people are calling the “swine flu.”

Not only is this awful since it can affect the results of the tournament (and the health of the athletes), it can also contribute to the spread of the disease since these players and their trainers will continue to travel around the world to compete.

Some star players have spoken out about the news.  Venus Williams said: “I guess there are sicknesses around, hopefully the players won’t get sick.  Hopefully our immune systems are strong enough, that’s what they are there for. We’re going to all put ours in use, take vitamin C and keep playing.”

Roger Federer basically summed up my own thoughts: “It is not good news, especially for the players travelling round the world, meeting so many people, it is not a good thing.  But I am sure the club is trying to protect us as much as possible.”

I hope he’s right but I’m not overly encouraged by the comment by Johnny Perkins, the spokesman for the All England Lawn Tennis Club: “It is in the community, it is in the schools, it would be strange in a way if we didn’t.”  With the world monitoring the progress of swine flu, I’m surprised that they didn’t ask employees who were ill to stay away in the first place.  This should have been a precaution that was put in place before the Championships began.

image: Zuma Press

The four top-seeded women have made the semifinals at Wimbledon which will feature a Russian versus an American player in both matches.

Despite her dislike for playing on the grass, top-ranked Russian, Dinara Safina, beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court which marks the first time she has advanced to the Wimbledon semifinal.

Safina was the runner-up at the French Open and the Australian Open and she played like a true champion on the hot day in London, although she did lose her cool at one point –she slammed her racquet down after committing her seventh double-fault.  Still, she managed to compose herself, regain her focus and beat Lisicki, who had to have her trainer ice her legs as she lay down on the court during the seventh set.

The Williams sisters have both made it to the semifinals which has led me to wonder if we are going to see a repeat of last year’s results with Venus winning over Serena in the finals.

Venus Williams easily secured her spot in the semifinals by beating Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2 in just 68 minutes.  It’s not surprising considering the American’s incredible record.  She has won 33 straight sets at Wimbledon since 2007.  That’s almost inhuman!  She’s now 67-9 all-time on grass

Meanwhile, Serena Williams played a clean match against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and walked away with a 6-2, 6-3 victory on Centre Court in 1 hour, 13 minutes.  This marks the sixth time that she has made it to the Wimbledon semifinal.  Serena is a two-time champion at the All England Club.  She battled her sister for both victories in 2002 and 2003.

Russia’s Elena Dementieva routed Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2 on Court 1 in just 66 minutes.  It wasn’t the cleanest match for the reigning Olympic gold medalist who incurred nine double faults but she managed to finish strong with a victory.

The semifinals take place on Thursday, July 2, 2009 with the following pairings:

• Dinara Safina vs. Venus Williams (Venus is 2-1 in the three times they have met before)
• Serena Williams vs. Elena Dementieva (Elena is 3-1 in the four times they have met but Serena won their most recent battle at the Australian Open)

The women’s semifinals are definitely going to be interesting.

images: Zuma Press

American teen, Melanie Oudin, shocked former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic by eliminating her 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2 to pull off what might be the biggest upset at the 2009 Wimbledon championships so far.  I’m not sure if the 82F/28C degree heat played a factor, though, since the pair took a 12 minute break after Jankovic called for a medical timeout.  The sixth seeded Serbian star had to lay on the court for a little while with a blood pressure cuff on her arm.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, she called another timeout later for her left foot.  Basically, it was a nightmare for Jankovic but a dream come true for Oudin who had never one a Grand Slam match.

image: Zuma Press

Venus Williams beat her opponent, Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-4.  The straight-set victory has brought her a little closer to winning her third consecutive Wimbledon title.  Williams played like she was seeking to avenge herself after losing to Suarez in the second round at this year’s Australian Open.  Williams will next battle 13th-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic in a fourth-round match.

Here’s a rundown of the other women’s results from Wimbledon:

• Fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova was knocked out by unseeded German Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 7-5.
• Ninth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki reached the fourth round for the first time by beating No. 20 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.
• Former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo beat 15th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 7-5, 6-3.

Day 2 of the 2009 Wimbledon Tournament featured some great matches and victories.  Venus Williams had a great morning.  The third-seeded, two-time defending champion enjoyed a straight-set victory in the opening round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Swiss Stefanie Voegele in 78 minutes.  Williams (USA) will face Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko (who ousted Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova) in the second round.

Here’s how the rest of the matches went for the seeded women;

• Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic beat German Julia Goerges 6-4, 7-6 (7-0).
• Dane Caroline Wozniacki rallied for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 win over Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm.
• Australian Samantha Stosur beat American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2.
• China’s Li Na won 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 over Kazakhstan’s Galina Voskoboeva.

Meanwhile, on the men’s court, Andy Roddick (USA) easily beat Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3 despite appearing to lose focus in the third set.  Roddick came into the event as the sixth seed and has been the runner-up twice - he lost to Roger Federer in both 2004 and 2005.

Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro (fifth seed) also celebrated an opening-round victory after beating France’s Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.  Del Potro will go on to face Lleyton Hewitt in the second round.

Other seeded winners included Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez, who defeated Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-5, 7-5, 6-3, and Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko who won 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 over Britain’s Daniel Evans.

images: TSN

On April 5th , Serena and Venus Williams hit up the beach in Miami, Florida. They showed up bikini clad and ready to play. The sisters grabbed some sun rays, splashed around in the ocean and rode some jet skis. Overall, it looked like one fun outing.

The sisters are both recovering from competing at the Sony Ericssobn Open in Key Biscane, FL. They did meet face to face and Serena took the match, which took her to the finals to compete against Victoria Azarenka.

Azarenka took the match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. Williams was visibly injured during the match, but didn’t have a lot to say about it afterwards. Her left thigh was taped and she was limping during the match.

When asked about the injury, Serena said, “Well, I don’t know. I guess it’s my — I have an ankle strain in addition to something else on my thigh.”

More photos of the Williams sisters below. Read more

Yes, it’s an “off-year” for the Olympics. Yes, it’s the middle of winter, but that doesn’t stop the sports bloggers around b5media from talking about your favorite Olympians. Here’s just a little bit of what they’ve been saying:

• At “Gossip on Sports,” Cherie begs journalists to stop using photos of Michael Phelps with his mouth open. She has a point.
• At “Hoops Fantasy,” Stephen shows us why LeBron James is better on the court than in the recording studio.
• At “Racket and Balls,” Julie tells us when we can watch Olympic tennis stars, Venus and Serena Williams (among other tennis greats) this year.
• At “Fantasy Kickoff,” Kori shares a great giveaway, just in time for Super Bowl parties.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

The Olympic tennis events concluded on Sunday. Sisters Venus and Serena Williams of the United States defeated Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual for the Gold Medal in the women’s doubles competition.

Yan Zi and Zheng Jie of China defeated Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko of Russia to earn the Bronze Medal.

Venus and Serena Williams won the Gold Medal in the women’s doubles tennis competition at the Sydney Games in 2000.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal continued his winning ways for the men’s singles Olympic Gold Medal, defeating Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez in three sets: 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3. Nadal gives Spain its first ever Gold Medal in tennis and secures his new #1 spot in the world tennis rankings, ousting Roger Federer from the place he’s held for more than four years. Nadal has won 38 of his last 39 matches.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic topped American James Blake for the Bronze Medal.

Russia swept the medals in the women’s singles competition, with Elena Dementieva defeating her countryman Dinara Safina in three sets: 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Vera Zvonareva defeated China’s Li Na for the Bronze Medal.

This is the first time since 1908 that one country has swept an Olympic tennis event.

Americans Venus and Serena Williams were eliminated from the tournament earlier in the week.