When Venus Williams won her second match point of the day at Wimbledon, even little sister Serena could celebrate.
About 3 hours after Venus beat Serena to win the women's singles title, the Americans paired up to win their seventh Grand Slam doubles title on Saturday, beating Lisa Raymond of the United States and Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-2, 6-2.
The win 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 Wimbledon singles final.
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 Grand Slam final.
In doubles, Venus and Serena broke their opponents twice in each set, with Venus then serving out to win each.
When Venus' backhand lob sailed high into the darkening sky in the final game, both Stosur and Raymond watched in dismay as the ball landed 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 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.
{{/usCountry}}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.
{{/usCountry}}The combined titles Saturday netted the family more than US$2.5 million.