WILLIAMS and Williams, Serena and Venus, returned to the Centre Court hours after their singles final in the evening to defend their ladies doubles title, and to underline their domination of the game, beating Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 6-4.

Having beaten the No 1 seeds, Liezel Huber and Cara Black, for the loss of only three games in the semi-final, the Williams sisters were expected to dominate from the start. But Stubbs and Stosur, the third seeds, made the better start, breaking service early and showing that accomplished doubles players have the craft to counter pure power. They managed to make a match of it.

One point early in the second set demonstrated that truth. First Serena and then Venus blasted balls from the baseline straight at Stosur at the net. Stosur managed to hold firm, as she negotiated five piledrivers before cleverly finding an angled volley that left Serena floundering.

The Williams sisters may have thought they were returning to the court for a bit of fun and to go through the formality of picking up their fourth doubles title at Wimbledon — but the Australian pair had other ideas and plenty of fortitude.

At 38, Stubbs was as quick as anyone around the court and more decisive on the volley. She had one particularly arduous service game in the second set, but showed admirable resolution, saving a succession of break points serving to Venus on the backhand side before holding serve. The next time she served, however, she was broken.

Up in the players’ box, the Williams’ mother, Oracene, seemed to have watched enough. She had been in the sun in the early afternoon as Serena defeated Venus. Now she sat in the corner of the box, catnapping. She could depend on her daughters to serve it out, and of course they did.

Britain’s Lucy Shuker will partner Australian Daniela Di Toro in the women's wheelchair doubles final against the Dutch pair, Korie Homan and Esther Vergeer, on Court Four today.