By Steve Wilstein
AP Sports Columnist

WIMBLEDON, England - Yards of tape were wrapped around her belly and thigh, her head flinched in pain, and still Venus Williams would have beaten any woman on the planet except the one across the net in the Wimbledon final - her kid sister, Serena.

That's how far above the field they have risen.

As the Grand Slam titles mount, Serena Williams is moving into the rarefied air of the greatest players in tennis history. Venus is moving along with her, though cast for the moment by fate and misfortune in the second-banana role.

Serena's 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory Saturday gave her a second straight Wimbledon trophy, matching the two Venus won in 2000 and 2001, and a total of six major titles at age 21.

In the Open era, only Steffi Graf with nine and Monica Seles with eight had more majors at a similar age. Chris Evert and Martina Hingis each had five, and the late-blooming Martina Navratilova had just one.

"I've always wanted to play tennis to leave a mark," Serena said. "I think I'll be able to leave a mark with what I've done in my career already. ... Hopefully, there's a few Slams left in me."

Venus, who has two U.S. Open titles to go with her Wimbledon pair, showed she may have a few Slams left in her, too, at age 23.

For one inspiring set, her artistry and grit were enough to overcome the pain of a strained abdominal muscle and groin. She took some pace off her serves, mixed up speeds and angles on groundstrokes, and won 12 of the first 14 points in jumping to a 3-0 lead.

Serena looked tight and confused, as if held back by the twin thoughts of playing an opponent with an injury and a sister who is also her best friend. Only two days earlier during a rain delay, Serena had gone to the locker room with her mother and other sisters to give Venus the boost she needed to get through the semifinals when the abdominal strain she'd been fighting for months came back sharply.

Now she saw Venus pummeling shots close to the lines, willing herself to chase down balls that seemed out of her reach.

"She's tougher than I ever thought she was," Serena said. "I knew she was tough, but she's definitely on a different level."

It would turn out to be a ragged match, punctuated by several exquisite rallies but not quite at a level with their final a year ago. Serena got back the break but dropped the first set when she was broken again with an ill-chosen drop shot that landed wide after a breathtaking rally on set point.

There were mumbles in the crowd that Serena might be tanking this match, giving up either out of obligation or sympathy to her sister. It was the kind of suspicion that has followed the Williams sisters for a long time - no matter how much they've tried to debunk the notion. Their match a year ago should have put those rumors to rest, and their gutsy play this time under difficult circumstances should end them forever.

Venus could have begged off this match, given in to the pain and defaulted as she has on other occasions with injuries in lesser tournaments. It would have been unpopular but understandable. Instead, she summoned all her inner resolve to go out and try to win.

"First," she said, "there's always the 'what if' in the back of your head. And second, it's just hard these days. Serena and I have taken a lot of slack, so I felt I had to take one for the team.

"It hasn't been easy. Serena and I, we've been blamed for a lot of things that never even happened."

Serena fell victim to a howling mob in the French Open semifinal last month and Venus exited early when she yielded to rust after taking off two weeks to rest her injury. That's been the only aberration from their dominance for more than a year in five of six Grand Slam finals - all of them going to Serena.

So Venus played on in this one, even as the pain in her belly grew worse at the start of the second set. She fell behind 5-1, fought back to 5-4 but couldn't stop Serena from serving it out.

"It tugged at my heartstrings watching Venus out there," her mother, Oracene, said. "But she did what she could. I just feel sorry for her because she wanted it so bad."

After double-faulting twice in losing the first game of the third set, Venus called for the trainer. Sitting in the chair, looking as if she might cry and quit, she chose instead to go to the locker room and have the tape around her midsection rewound tighter.

"With that type of injury, and what's required of those muscles during a service motion, I think she was very courageous to go out there and play," WTA trainer Karen Davies said.

Venus never could mount a challenge in the final set, but she left an impression on her sister and the cheering, sympathetic fans who saw honor in her defeat. There would be no celebratory dance by Serena after this match. Rather they simply hugged at the net and sat waiting for their trophies.

"I was just thinking," Serena said, "what class and what spirit and what fight and what championship quality Venus showed today and throughout the tournament."

It's a quality both sisters have shown in separating themselves from the rest of their rivals and moving into the class of the all-time greats.

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Steve Wilstein is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at swilstein@ap.org

Box score

Serena Williams (1)

def. Venus Williams (4)

4-6, 6-4, 6-2

	Serena	Venus
1st-serve percentage	59	49
Aces	6	1
Double faults	4	8
Unforced errors	30	25
1st-serve winning pct.	72	73
2nd-serve winning pct.	34	35
Winners (incl. service)	31	19
Break points	6-13	4-11
Net points	10-13	10-15
Total points won	99	93
Time of match	2:03