Hard-fought match that left both sisters hurting proved that the ladies aren't for turning

THEIR shared focus had been the safe progress of them both into the final. After that it was every Williams for herself , according to the sisters.

With a couple of breaks in the first set before Venus took the honours and then a mammoth seven break points contested before Serena broke in the third game of the second set, if there had been any pre-match plea bargaining round the dinner table, as the cynics suggested, then some convoluted planning went into the minutiae.

Beforehand, the innuendo had prompted an angry reaction from Venus who dismissed it as "offensive", adding "I contribute my best in my sport, and I also have a ton of respect for myself and my family. So any mention of that is extremely disrespectful for who I am, what I stand for, and my family."

In the end the only person who hurt her family was her. There was no way around it, though. In proving that there was no carve-up, both women gave it everything they had on the day and one of them had to emerge victorious. In the end it was big sister who collected her fifth Wimbledon title.

Both women looked like they really wanted to win but, usually perhaps, it was Venus who seemed to have the greater desire. So often considered the flaky one, the tougher competitor has always been Serena. This time though the tables were turned. There will be no consolation in it for the younger sister but she is the one credited with imbuing her sibling with that quality.

"I have been working really hard and was fighting for everything ," said Serena afterwards, by then all-too aware that it hadn't been enough. "But she was a little bit better today and it didn't work out the way I had planned. I'm so glad that one of us was able to win the final, though, and Venus played great."

Venus' wobbly start, taking just one point in the first two games to give her sister the early break, did nothing to hint at the eventual outcome. "I can't believe that that's five (Wimbledon titles]. But when you are in a final with Serena, five seems so far away from that first point. She played so awesome, it was really a task to beat her."

There may not have been a family carve-up and loyalties may have been sidelined during the action but afterwards she said it was hard to celebrate when she knew her victory was hurting her sister. "My first job is big sister. I take that very seriously." But she couldn't resist a tongue in cheek dig which would have rubbed salt in the wounds if there had been any element of truth to it.

Asked about the divided loyalties the friends and family endure as they watch the pair battle it out, pounding each other with powerful shot after another, she smiled, glanced at her sister, and replied: "I know it's hard for all of them but I like to think that they want me to win."

What anyone else wanted didn't matter yesterday. The fact is she wanted it and if these Williams sisters are focused, they are a force to be reckoned with.