Simon Barnes, Chief Sports Writer
Win Sky+HD for a year and a trip to Barcelona

Time, I think, to start marvelling at those Williams girls. They really are the most remarkable pair in the history of tennis. We have known them as child prodigies, we have known them as youthful champions, we have known them as supreme champions at their absolute peak. And now they are giving us something new: they are giving us longevity. If things go on much longer, people will start to love them.
Perhaps we should start. Certainly, we should work up a little admiration. Yesterday, Serena Williams joined her sister, Venus, in the final after what was eventually a perfectly splendid semi-final. She beat Zheng Jie, of China, 6-2, 7-6. Zheng is ranked No133 to Williams's 6, she was giving away 4 inches in height and a couple of stone in weight.
And if we hadn't had rain delays, we might have had a shock, because Zheng was moving Williams all over the court, hitting hard and low and flat and finding the corners. Williams doesn't care too much for the running about part of tennis - she is better at standing still and whacking. She was beginning to look flustered and also a bit blown.
But the rain came and she got her breath back, and though she was taken to a tie-break in the second set, she served it out so ferociously that Zheng was blasted aside. The match ended on a double fault, an unworthy way for Zheng to lose. She has been one of the great joys of this Wimbledon and her sharp-angled, two-fisted cross-courter is the most thrilling shot we have seen in the women's competition.
All the same, it was Williams who won, and it is Williams whom she meets in the final, which is a cue for the inevitable groans and cynical suggestions that they will decide who wins over breakfast tomorrow. Let us not do unworthy things ourselves, let us instead concentrate on the splendour that is Williams.
I first encountered them as pig-tailed, little ball-whackers at Nick Bollettieri's tennis factory in Florida. They were already baby stars. Bollettieri told them how to bash clay dust from their shoes and coached them with his usual breathless excitement while a lanky fellow filmed every move for some mad purpose of his own. This was, of course, the much-mocked dad, Richard Williams. He should be celebrated as the tennis genius of our age.
The legend of the sisters' upbringing is not exaggerated: Compton in Los Angeles really is not the place for a pleasant evening stroll. That one world-class player should emerge from the cracked public tennis courts there is remarkable, that two should do so, and from the same family, is little short of a miracle.
True, they have been a little bit abrasive at times, sometimes a bit awkward, sometimes a little rough about the edges. Well, that's often the way with mould-breakers. You cannot always change society with supreme tact and patrician manners. Sometimes the sisters have seemed to treat the conventions of the game with contempt, winning the warm-up, overdoing the glares, not apologising for points won from a net-cord, getting too close at the change of ends. Little things, niggly things that add up.
This made them seem a little too strident, a little too in-yer-face. But how could they have been anything else? They needed to batter down walls, they needed, most importantly, to feel that they were dealing with this strange and somewhat hostile world on their own terms. And so they did and if people didn't like it, then that was their rotten luck.
Their tennis is pretty charmless, if pretty devastating. Each has a game that inspires admiration, rather than affection. Both play with little more than power, they like to blast everything in their way. They seem to have a taste not just for winning but for humiliating an opponent. Perhaps that is just a by-product of their style, perhaps it is their nature. It is impossible to say, only to notice that opponents defeated by the Williams sisters do seem to be unusually well beaten.
The sisters lack the sense of vulnerability that attends almost all tennis players, of either sex, even the best. That's because, uniquely, they are not alone. There are two of them, tight, loved and loving, and that is a source of extraordinary strength to them. And they go on and they go on, and here they are at Wimbledon and one of them is going to win it again.
Tennis has never lost its charm for them, largely because their father helped them to cultivate interests outside the game. This is the secret of their longevity, the Williamses have been winning here since 2000 and tomorrow for the seventh time, a Williams will win again.
Whether they sort it out over coffee and muffins or whether they will get tied up in the complexities of their relationship, the chances are that the actual match will be a bit of a damp squib.
Don't blame them, instead, celebrate the extraordinary nature of their achievement in getting here, again, the third time the two of them have contested a Wimbledon final.
Whoever wins, it is a victory for the Williamses. These days, they have mellowed and cut down on some of the snarling, but they are still prepared to fight anybody. Absolutely anybody. Except each other, of course.
Explore your passion for food with the delights of Thai, Indian & Chinese cooking
In our new series, Tony Hawks takes a dry, wry look at modern life - junk mail, interminable meetings and snooty sales assistants
Read the training tips and advice that helped our London Triathletes
Read our exclusive 100 Years of Fleming and Bond interactive timeline, packed with original Times articles and reviews
The latest travel news plus the best hotels and gadgets for business travellers

Find tickets for:
Shortcuts to help you find sections and articles
2007
£30,000
2006
£14,337
2008
£39,937
Great car insurance deals online
c.£75,000
GlosFirstmeansbusiness
Gloucestershire
£32,795 - £41,545
Universitry of Southampton
Southampton
£
£32,795 - £41,545
Universitry of Southampton
Southampton
Competitive Package
Npower
West Midlands
1 & 2 Bed apartments
From £249,995
Great Investment, River Views
Great Dubai Investment Opportunities
from £89,950
low-cost ownership homes in London
Las Vegas SALE!
£POA
With Ramblers Worldwide Holidays!
£POA
List your property with two leading travel websites
£POA
Great travel insurance deals online
Contact our advertising team for advertising and sponsorship in Times Online, The Times and The Sunday Times. Globrix Property Search - find property for sale and rent in the UK. Milkround Job Search - for graduate careers in the UK. Visit our classified services and find jobs, used cars, property or holidays. Use our dating service, read our births, marriages and deaths announcements, or place your advertisement.
Copyright 2008 Times Newspapers Ltd.
This service is provided on Times Newspapers' standard Terms and Conditions. Please read our Privacy Policy.To inquire about a licence to reproduce material from Times Online, The Times or The Sunday Times, click here.This website is published by a member of the News International Group. News International Limited, 1 Virginia St, London E98 1XY, is the holding company for the News International group and is registered in England No 81701. VAT number GB 243 8054 69.
Viva La Sisters
Bert Newton, Melbourne, Australia
I don't care what anyone says about Venus and Serena they are and will always be the best. If they do fix the match over breakfast, I know that they don't, then it is their priviledge to do so let Maria or Justin do the same if they could. There are many Russians there let them do it, if they could.
May, Brooklyn, USA
The Williams sisters are not liked because they are black and successful. Imagine if Sharapova had the same success? Even without their success she gets more attention because of her few wins and her grunting? more galling to the mainly white crowd:the sisters dont give a damn.
Reno Poez, New York, USA
The Sisters are real talented their game is real and Pleasant to watch they play.
The two do play good even if its William against her sister Venus or vice versa it does not matter they play as if they are not from the same family.
The like of Federer on the side of The Men also play real game theough small "visual" problems or the toughness of the game that make him nearly to be diffited
But the real train for it.
Guys keep up playin to make us at one point say you real played a game to glue us on the pitch.
RICHARD, Nakuru, Kenya
Just saw the finals between the Williams sisters. I wanted Venus to win and win she did. What amazing tennis both played. I coluld not take my eyes off the TV. I silently praised their father for producing such great champions. And mother too. Keep it up Venus and Serena.
Indira Pune, India
Indira Jayaraman, Pune, India
Two siblings meet in a grand slam final - and there is talk of 'match-fixing' !
Yes, it's time we applaud the Williams family - who have produced not one - but two 'match-winners' !
As any sportsperson knows, it's a long hard road to get to the top. Let the critics try going down that line !
Mina Anand, Chennai, India
I have seen them grow up from the start of their tennis life. what a journey I have witnessed. the tennis that two sisters have showed the tennis fans is brilliant. o see them play in the wimbledon finals is soo special. good luck serena and venus.we love you!
Honey starr, old westbury, new york
Good luck to the Williams sisters, I say.
Put them on that pedestal and give them their just do as you do your Caucasian sisters.
Ron, Edison, United States
Good piece. Never really thought about the longevity perspective. Come to think of it, top players like Kim Clijsters and Justin Hardenne who appeared after the Williams sisters exploded on to the world stage have now retired. Almost a decade after, Venus and Serena are back again. Longevity indeed!
Emeka Ugbana, Gahanna, Ohio, US
I think any player that can come this far in Wimbledon deserves an applause. So it's unfair for anyone to insinuate that the Williams sisters will decide who wins over breakfast. They are lovable ladies,I 'd like to believe many people love them like I do.
L.Nelly Henshaw- Johnn ,Holland
L.Nelly Henshaw-Johnn, Utrecht, Netherlands
I love MARTINA HINGIS. There's no other player more different then the Williamses. I respect them, why shouldn't I. Their skin gave them another aspect to differentiate them from the majority so it helped them. They are two. What one does the other gains. That's their strength. Mentally so important
Roxana, Ploiesti, Romania
They're Great! I think we should celebrate them. For some of us tennis is not the same without them. Like it or not they raised the "bar" in ladies tennis - they added a new dimenssion. I was'nt expecting much from them this Wimbledon but there they are - both in the final. Full of suprises!!
Phumlile Zwane, Manzini, Swaziland
I think people are jealous of them. They want to win and i see it in their passion and strenght in the court. They are focused and deserve to be respected. The whole rubbish about who wins over breakfast, I personally think its an insult. All i can say is, Good luck to them and all the best.
Tonia, london, uk
Brilliant piece...the reason they have been a bit aloof is that they had to fight for break barriers.What they have achieved is incredible.Venus will have been in 9 finals here and won 4 times already!They might not everyone's cup of tea but they are already legends and we should applaud them....
Manny, London,
Absolutely spot on ! It never failes to amaze me how all the doomsayers groan collectively at the prospect of another all Williams final and when challenged say that most past matches have been damp squibs ? How many opponents did Martina obliterate in her pomp?
HETAL, PINNER, UK
I agree that they don't get their respect in the tennis world even though they deserve it. It appears that people are envious. Even though they don't receive their just do , they persevere, and that makes me proud of them.
Lovice, Oak Park, USA
Some good points here and especally about the love. They do sometimes come across as courtyard bullies.
I dont think i can learn to love them as love requires passion and respect and their tennis hasnt yet inspired passion in me but I can certainly respect them.
Elsa, London, UK
I dare you say,
" If things go on much longer, people will start to love them."
They are loved now, they were loved when they started out, it is he racists that don't like them. You don't say that about the other players, THEY ARE THE BEST AND THE WORLD KNOW IT.
MEDLEA, CLEVELAND
Hughlean Medlea, Cleveland, USA
Good luck to the Williams girls. World tennis still doesn't respect them or accept them but as a show, they are as good as any in history.
Brendan, Warnambool, Australia
I think its small minded to think that either sister doesnt want to win Wimbledon badly or even suggest that they will decide it over breakfast. Appreciate them because their greats at this sport. If more women in tennis showed more grit/passion they would get further. Thank god for the Williamses!
Nomad, London,
Good piece. Thank you. Sometimes though I think that they are just such far superior athletes to other women on the tour that its their power and size that keeps them (or quickly returns them) to the top, rather than supreme play. But that is probably too harsh. Appreciate away, Venus to win.
AT, Sydney,
Barnes
re your fawning article this morning on murray - you must be the only sports writer not to have heard him say that he would win the mens singles title this week - HERO to ZERO
warren wise, london, UK