So it was not just bravado that made Venus Williams proclaim she was so inspired at the prospect of defending her title that she felt almost as unbeatable at Wimbledon as Pete Sampras. After making the pronouncement to sister Serena a few days before the Championships began, she went out and proved it in the all-Williams women’s final yesterday.

And if anybody had doubted the validity of the contest after allegations that the outcome would be the result of a predetermined family decision, the disappointment on Serena’s face as she watched her older sister lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish for the fifth time in her past nine attempts spoke volumes. Some consolation later arrived for Serena, who alongside her sister won their first doubles title since the Australian Open in 2003 by beating 16th seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur 6-2 6-2.

On so many occasions in recent times, Grand Slam ladies’ singles finals have failed to live up to their importance and to justify the decision to award equal prize-money. However, at last this contest was proof that the women’s game can be compelling, and Venus can legitimately bank her £750,000 winner’s cheque knowing that she is free from suspicion.

This was an excellent final, one hour and 51 minutes brimful of passion, power and intensity. A cruel wind that gusted and swirled around Centre Court made things perilous for the server, but in the end Venus proved the more adept, beating her younger sister for the first time in a Grand Slam final since the 2001 US Open.

Twice previously Venus has been forced to accept second best to Serena in a Wimbledon final. This could easily have been a third failure as she trailed by a break of serve in both sets. However, there has been a determination to the 28-year-old’s play at this tournament, even when she was briefly troubled by Britain’s Naomi Cavaday and Anne Keothavong in the initial two rounds, and such fortitude was apparent as she prevailed 7-5 6-4.

Unlike her previous wins, there were no dances of delight, merely a broad grin up to her mother, Oracene, and a half-curtsy of celebration. “Of course the celebration isn’t as exciting,” Venus said, “because my sister just lost. I’m definitely thinking about how my sister’s feeling.”

If the uncompassionate mood Serena appeared to be demonstrating was a facade, she could be in line for numerous awards when she decides to pursue her acting career full-time. Serena did make a gift of one point after shrieking in the act of hitting a Venus serve when umpire Carlos Ramos initially called a let. Until the touching embrace after a final backhand went wide on the second match point, there was little evidence of sisterly love.

There was no sign of the obligatory apology from Serena as the ball trickled over after flirting with the net cord. There were sighs of exasperation when Venus repeatedly pulled out of serves as the breeze buffeted her ball toss. Serena tried to intimidate by blazing one viciously hit backhand into her opponent’s body, and when Venus tumbled when trying to turn wide in her backhand court, there was barely a look of concern. At one stage Serena even questioned Ramos when she felt that her sibling was taking too long between points.

These two hit the ball harder than anyone in the women’s game and the extended rallies saw the ball pummelled back and forth with groundstrokes full of venom. No quarter was asked for, none given, and if Elena Dementieva — suspicious of the sisters’ competitive instincts in big matches against each other after losing the semi-final to Venus two days earlier — had cared to watch, she would have reason to reassess.

The pair broke tradition by leaving the house they have been sharing for the past fortnight at different times to travel in individual courtesy cars. They practised separately and showed barely a glimmer of emotion in the opening exchanges. Initially it looked as though it was going to be Serena’s day as she came out blazing with a stunning forehand return that set up an immediate break of serve.

Venus seemed ill at ease, early double-faults prompted by the breezy conditions affecting her self-belief. Piece by piece she reassembled her game and as the potency of Serena’s game seemed to wane, she assumed control. Two breaks of serve in three attempts gave her the first set, and although Serena went on the offensive again in the second, finally converting a seventh break point in a 16-minute game that ended with Venus losing her footing, it was a short-lived supremacy.

Breaking back at the first opportunity, Venus had the look of victor about her. However, there was still some strongarm hitting to come, and a 23-stroke rally was stunning in its velocity, the ball flying hard and flat back and forth across the net with neither showing a sign of weakness. Eventually Venus’s superior athleticism took her to two championship points, four giant bounding paces propelling her from the baseline to within a yard of the net to let fly with a unplayable backhand pass. Serena responded in style with a 100mph ace searing down the centre before a backhand found the net and the title was her sister’s. Venus now stands behind only Martina Navratilova (nine) and Steffi Graf (seven) as a serial collector of Wimbledon titles in the Open era. “Had I had this achievement at any other tournament it would have been awesome, but not nearly the same meaning as Wimbledon,” she said.

- Second seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic won the men’s doubles, beating Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett 7-6 6-7 6-3 6-2.

The Williams sisters: from public court to Centre Court

- Venus and Serena Williams began to play tennis on public courts in Compton, an area of south Los Angeles that is notorious for violent crime and its high murder rate. On at least one occasion they had to lie on the ground on court to avoid bullets. Their sister was later accidentally caught up and died in a gangland shooting

- Coached by their father Richard, Venus led the way but Serena, younger by 15 months, replaced her sister as No1-ranked tennis player aged 12 or under in California

-Venus Williams turned professional in 1994, aged 14 but did not began to play regularly on the women’s tour until 1997. That year she reached the US Open final on her debut, losing in straight sets to Martina Hingis. She was 17 at the time

- Venus won the first two meetings against Serena, in the Australian Open and in Rome in 1998. A year later she won the first final between the two in Key Biscayne. It was the first all-sister final in tennis history

- Serena beat Amelie Mauresmo in the Paris indoor final in 1999 on the same day that Venus won in Oklahoma. It was the first time two sisters had won titles in the same week. Serena went on to win the US Open that year

- The first Grand Slam final contested by Venus and Serena was the US Open in 2001, Venus winning in straight sets. Serena won the next three clashes in consecutive Grand Slam finals in 2002, at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. Venus extended the final to three sets at the 2003 Australian Open but Serena won again to complete the ‘Serena Slam’

- Serena beat Venus in the 2003 Wimbledon final and leads big sister 8-7 in Grand Slam titles won. Of the modern era, Venus, with five, trails only Martina Navratilova (9), Steffi Graf (7) and Billie Jean King (6) in Wimbledon ladies singles titles won. The sisters who also celebrated, above, victory in yesterday’s doubles final have won seven Grand Slam titles together, including three at Wimbledon