The Williams sisters took Centre Court in the 2009 Wimbledon finals to determine the grass court champion and conclude some serious family business. So serious that their father could not bear to watch.

The elder Williams declared his intention to mow the lawn during the finals and boarded a plane for Florida the night before the sisters faced off in the finals. In another dominating Grand Slam finals performance, Serena captured the tournament that slipped away last year and hoisted the Venus Rosewater Dish on Independence Day. The little sister had accomplished her goal and avenged her 2008 loss to Venus.

With a devastating serve and an overpowering disposition, 27-year old Serena overcame her big sister 7-6 (3), 6-2 in a near flawless performance before a packed house at London’s All England Club. With the win, Serena stopped Venus’s run of five straight Wimbledon titles and became the first player to win a title after a six-year lapse.

Venus had been the more dominant performer entering the finals. Her 120 mph serve and graceful, though bandaged, court coverage, along with her calm, steady personality appeared to have the elegant defending champ poised for victory. But, her younger sister and doubles partner would have none of it.

Today, there were no “nice shot,” no “good try,” exchanges between the two sisters who often drill with each other. Today was business, all business. Today, two partners, great friends and sisters went on the court to play by themselves and for themselves.

The setting is the favorite for Venus, who has only lost five matches in her career at Wimbledon. Serena had won the tournament in 2002 and 2003 before Venus began her run of titles and has been on a roll since capturing the U.S. Open in 2008. This year she has added the Australian Open and now Wimbledon to attain the lofty level of 11 time Grand Slam champion.

In the first set, both players played well and served especially well. With first serves approaching 120 mph, neither player could manage a break although Serena threatened on two occasions and Venus had two break points at 4-4.

Serena had asserted her serve early. Venus had no answers. At the conclusion of the match, Venus was only able to win 8 points off her sister’s serve and her inability to pressure the serve spelled doom for the tiebreaker as well as for the second set.

Early in the opening set, Venus displayed her winning form. She moved well to the ball, held her position through impact and showed near perfect form. Serena played the power game that overcame Victoria Azarenka and the talented Elena Dementieva. Serena tends to move aggressively into her groundstrokes and occasionally comes up and off the ball. In the finals, an unusually relaxed and comfortable Serena stayed down and blistered forehands and backhand at her sister.

The Williams sisters play the way they conduct themselves. Venus is quiet, serene, poised even reserved while Serena is gregarious, powerful and a bit higher strung. With more than 930 tour wins between them, these ladies have the experience and championship know-how to intimidate the younger pretenders to the throne.

While Dinara Safina remains the top ranked player on the tour, tennis fans and other competitors acknowledge Venus, Serena and Elena Dementieva as the three best players and competitors.

In the tiebreaker, Serena broke early and held all her serves to go up 6-2. Venus held one serve but Serena executed a perfect lob to seal the set.

The first set toll wore on Venus. She began to press her serve and faulted at key times. Serena was zeroed in on the second serve, moving forcefully into the returns. Unable to land first serves, Venus was powerless to defend the onslaught. After breaking at 2-2, Serena ran of four straight games, winning the second set with ease.

Serena raised her impressive Grand Slam final match record to 11 wins opposed by just 3 losses.

In post match interviews, Serena said it was the first time in her career that she “did not expect to win.” She walked on to Centre Court with nothing to lose and felt no pressure.

Serena Doubles her Pleasure

Still feeling like they had something to prove, Serena and Venus Williams mended their emotional fences and paired up on the same side of the net to overcome third seeded Australians Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs in a well played 7-6 (4), 6-4 final. The one hour thirty minute triumph completed a most successful day for America’s Williams sisters who dominated both the singles and doubles events.

Featuring two of the game’s best services, the winners chalked up 9 aces compared to 2 from the Aussies. The Americans scored a sterling 45 outright winners and were relentless on the attack.

The win was the pair’s eight Grand Slam title and third Wimbledon Doubles trophy. In the last match of the day, the fourth seeded ladies put an American stamp on both ladies tournaments and paved the way for the USA’s best performance at Wimbledon in years.

What a day Saturday will be for the Williams family. The world’s two best female grass court players will begin the day on opposite sides of the net contending for the cherished Wimbledon singles title. In a rare occurrence, they will end the day on same side of the net as doubles partners vying for yet another doubles crown.

In women’s doubles, all four of the top seeds reached the semifinals. Top seeded Cara Black (Zimbawe) and Liezel Huber (USA) are probably wondering what top single’s seed Dinara Safina must be wondering; “What can you do?”

In Friday’s semifinal, the doubles specialists Black and Huber had absolutely no answers for the fourth seeded Williams sisters. In fact, the Williams’ decisive 6-1, 6-2, sixty-one minute win raised a serious question about how Women’s seeding is tabulated as opposed to how it should be figured.

Around Wimbledon, the answer is pretty clear. The current seeding system is broken from the start. To begin future Wimbledon seeding, let’s simply acknowledge that the Williams sisters are unparalleled, especially on grass.

With eight Wimbledon singles crowns between them and with 3 doubles titles in their pocket, what more does anyone need to know? In doubles, the Venus and Serena are the best. In singles, Venus and Serena are the best. Forget the ridiculous, laughable tour ranking craziness and get to the beef.

If the tournament organizers at the U.S. Open have any questions, call Dinara Safina first and then Lisa Huber or Cara Black. Tournament organizers need to show some judgment here. It is getting embarrassing allowing the likes of unproven talents like Dinara Safina ride the computer to further steamrolling humiliation.

It is better for the tournament and better for the fans to show some common sense. Better yet, ask the players whom they do not want to play and follow that path to the seedings. Now, there’s a sensible solution.

It would be quite surprising if anyone volunteered to play either of the Williams ladies in singles or doubles. I mean really, who needs it?

Against Cara and Lisa, the match was over as quickly as it started. Before a full house on Court One, the Williams hit 34 winners in two sets. They won 59 points compared to 31 for their opponents. They brought aboard their 120 mph serves and left the top seeds in awe. This was not a doubles match, this was a doubles clinic.

In the finals, the Williams women will take on the accomplished Samantha Stosur and her fellow Australian partner Rennae Stubbs, who overcame the second seeded Anabel Medina Garriques and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain in three sets, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-2. This was a competitive march before a packed gallery.

Stosur, who has been steadily improving since her return to the tour, was the difference. Long regarded as a serious doubles player, Stosur has brought her singles toughness to the doubles arena.

The more than two hour match featured terrific net play and aggressive movements by both teams. In the long run, it was Stosur’s ability to see the court and take advantage of openings that decided the match.

Stosur has two Grand Slam doubles titles on her resume and was the runnerup here last year as well as at the U.S. Open. For Stosur and Stubbs to prevail on Saturday, they will have to hope the Ladies Championship goes three long sets and that the Williams girls lose a little interest. In any case, that is highly unlikely. The Williams know a big payday when they see one and it appears the twosome has had their eye on Wimbledon for some time. On Saturday, the Williams will put their stamp on the grass courts once and for all. Bank it!

What Dinara Safina must know, is that she is not the number one tennis player in the world.  It is time the tournament organizers got the message.  On Thursday, Dinara Safina entered Centre Court alongside the third or fourth best female tennis player on the planet.

If there was ever any doubt about the true rankings, the rankings the tour players keep in the purses, Wimbledon fans heard it loud and clear.  Actually, they must have known what would happen. In a rare occurrence, less than half the seats surrounding Centre Court were occupied for the 6-1, 6-0, fifty-one minute drubbing.

Give the Brits credit.  They know a mismatch when they do not see one.  In this economy, why bother?  To the telly!

The finals will now be just as the bookmakers suggested, a family affair.  It will be difficult to pick a favorite.  Let’s just say, Serena thinks she should have won last year, and she has been carrying it around ever since.

For this most disappointing semifinal, Dinara was never there, never in the match.  She was resigned to disappointment.  In big matches, it seems her plight.

At 23, she is young.  She cannot be blamed for the seeding.  Dinara’s day will come.  Not right away.  Not until she develops a second serve that exceeds 75 mph, not until her foot speed gets her across the court with more ease and not until she spends some time with a sports psychologist, but those things will happen.  Dinara’s day will come.  Right now, she is like a long-legged colt, really.

Venus is like a thorobred.  She adds to the Wimbledon mystique.  She is beautiful, soft spoken and gracious.  In every interview, she takes her time, thinks through her answers and elevates the stature of the tournament and women’s tennis.  She has won me over.  I hope Dinara was rightfully impressed, because one day will be her day. But, not today.  Congratulations to Venus Williams for a job well done.

When beautiful 19-year old Victoria Azarenka wins the 2009 Wimbledon Championship, she will have prevailed over the most difficult draw in women’s tennis history. There, I have said it. I have said that Victoria will prevail and win the championship. I have said the draw was stacked against her.

You might remember that I also said Melanie Oudin would be Wimbledon’s Cinderella. She was. But, Victoria Azarenka is not too far behind. When she hoists the silverware, she will have earned the right, believe me.

Many of the Brits do not like Victoria. She grunts, groans and moans her way through points and matches. Apparently, these Brits are unfamiliar with LaMaze. Women’s tennis today sounds like a maternity ward. But, that’s the way it is. It is far easier to count the touring non-grunters than to count the grunters.

As Victoria recently said, “I have been doing it since I was 10 years old. I wasn’t really strong and that was what helped me to accelerate more, to put more power to the ball.” You know what, Victoria, if it works for you, it works for me. But, please don’t do it when you hoist the Championship Trophy.

On a day where my other Cinderella, Melanie Oudin, succumbed to the effects of too much media, too much hype and forgot that this was another match against another girl that she could beat, Victoria Azarenka overcame a very stubborn Nadia Petrova in three tense sets.

On a day where Venus beat Ana into submission and where Serena lost just four games and where the surprising Elena Dementieva looks ready to snap out of her slump and move past Elena Vesnina, Victoria Azarenka was out there a long time, working hard, hitting one gorgeous drive after another and moving gracefully across the court. We were blessed to see her play.

And, Nadia Petrova had it working. The Russian 10 seed, served powerfully, hit beautiful shots of her own and used a devastating drop shot to counter every move Victoria made. Victoria was soon grunting and surging, groaning and reaching and winning.

You may remember that Victoria had Venus on the ropes at Melbourne before all sorts of unusual things happened. You may remember that Victoria reached the quarters at Roland Garros. You may forget that she is a very nice, very elegant 19-year old. She is, trust me. You would like to have her over for dinner.

She is also trying to fend off a well-traveled group of American and Russian hierarchy. The Brits have made sure it was a full time job. In the 3rd round, she drew the testy Sorana Cirstea, of Paris fame, today Petrova, tomorrow Serena, Thursday Elena and most likely Venus in the finals. Wow! Could it be any more difficult?

Take for example Dinara Safina. She overcame hard playing Amelie Mauresemo and now plays Sabine Lisicki. Dinara may choke again, but could it be an easier?

Venus draws Odin conquerer, Aggie Radwanska, who I am sure is very pleasant despite not being welcome at my house anymore. Elena, who has yet to lose a set and is quietly and quickly moving through the draw plays unseeded Francesca Schiavone. Elena has some choking issues of her own, but really how does that happen? How are all these talents at the bottom of the draw sheet?

Hey, if you looked at Victoria’s draw, you would grunt and groan too. So, instead of being a typical tennis frontrunner, come on over to the world of Victoria Azarenka and see how it is in the real world of a non-prima donna tennis champion. You see that is what Azarenka is all about. That is why she has so many fans. She is a hard-working, grind-it-out player that leaves nothing on the court. When Victoria walks off the court, she is spent, emotionally and physically.

After Azarenka took the first set from Petrova in a tiebreaker, Nadia needed a timeout to get some ice on her legs and have her blood pressure checked. These things happen when it is going well for Azarenka.

Petrova recovered. You knew she would. She stormed through the second set at 6-2. The Russian’s serve was dominant and it looked like the cooled off Azarenka would not avenge last year’s loss.

In the third set, there were five breaks but Victoria captured the key one at 4-3. In the final three games, Victoria lost just three points. Yes, she groaned, yes she grunted and yes she played like a champions for 2 hours and 35 minutes in the grueling heat.

Victoria Azarenka, your time has come. Remmeber what you did to Serena in Key Biscayne this year. Take no prisoners. Play like a champion and grunt as loud as you like. You are the best!

The flamboyant defending champion and tournament top seed has rocked the tennis world once again. This time it is with his absence. The world’s number one has withdrawn from the grandfather and most prestigious of all the Grand Slams. Rafael Nadal announced his withdrawal after the original draw had been formed and sent tournament organizers into a tailspin. Critics score Nadal’s late decision as unfortunately typical. The Spaniard might have been better served by announcing his withdrawal earlier in the week, but that is not Rafa’s style.

There are many players who benefit from Nadal’s departure. Remarkably, the second seed, 14-time Grand Slam Champion and five-time Wimbledon Champion, Roger Federer has the most difficult path to the semi-finals.

In the greatest player of all-time’s quarter are heavyweights Fernando Verdasco (7), Ivo Karlovic (22), Jo-Wilfreid Tsonga (9), Robin Soderling (13) and Feliciano Lopez (21). If form holds, Round Four will be a rematch of the French Open finals pitting Soderling against the five-time winner. In the quarters, Verdasco should be looming, but Tsonga does not go away quietly. Tennis experts are shaking their collective heads and wondering how it could be any more difficult for the focused Federer to claim his 15th title.

Meanwhile, Scotsman Andy Murray, winner of the Queen’s and now top seed in the top half of the draw, has a comparative cakewalk to the quarters. His chief combatants will be Stanislaus Wawrinka (19), aging Marat Safin (14), Fernando Gonzalez (10), Victor Hanescu (31) and 8 seed Gilles Simon, who is not at the top of his game. If form holds, Murray’s fourth round would pit the testy Scot against Wawrinka. The Scotsman would meet the Frenchman, Simon, in the quarters. For Murray the path is clear to the semis.

The fourth seed is Serb Novak Djokovic, who escaped a quarterfinal matchup against Juan Martin del Porto when Nadal withdrew. Djokovic’s quarter has Mardy Fish (28), Tommy Robredo (15), Rainer Schuettler (18), Marin Cilic (11), Tommy Haas (24) and the struggling James Blake (17) who was moved to fill del Porto’s slot. What a mess!

If form holds, Djokovic will meet the tough Robredo in the fourth round and Cilic in the quarters. Djokovic is unaccustomed to such a relaxed draw and this may be just the spark the moody Serb needs to make a big move.

Juan Martin del Porto (5) slides into Nadal’s place. He is far and away the biggest beneficiary of Nadal’s damaged knees. In his quarter are Radek Stepanek (23), David Ferrer (16), Nikolay Davydenko (12), Tomas Berdych (20) and probable quarterfinal matchup Andy Roddick (6).

Like del Porto, Roddick must be licking his chops. Roddick is two-time runner-up at Wimbledon and is enjoying a fine year. It has been a long time since the American has been positioned so well at a Grand Slam.

The Ladies Singles’ Draw

Wimbledon will be Dinara Safina’s most difficult Grand Slam Draw of the year. The number one seed will be challenged to get through the quarters where her decisive Roland Garros conquerer, Svetlana Kuznetsnova (5), will be waiting. The top of the draw looks to provide some other hefty challenges for the nervous Safina, who has a more difficult path than Svetlana to the probable quarterfinal pairing. Fiava Pennetta (15), Amelie Mauresmo (17) and Caroline Wozniacki (9) stand in the way of the French rematch.

Third seeded Venus Williams looks to have the most favorable quarter. The five-time winner at Wimbledon has not needed a lot of help in the past. She is an expert grass-court player. With her sister in the lower half of the draw, the possibility of a Williams-Williams final matchup looks very possible. However, there are stumbling blocks aplenty for both sisters. The main competition in Venus’s quarter will come from the well-conditioned Samantha Stosur (18), Ana Ivanovic (13), Agnes Radwanska (11) and French disappointment Jelena Jankovic (6). Stosur is in top form and poses a stern test for the three seed. Jankovic looks to have a clear path but seems to stumble in Grand Slam tournaments.

Number two seed, Serena Williams is chomping at the bit to regain her former number one ranking. The tough American is well suited for the Wimbledon grass and plays her best when the pressure is highest.

The younger Williams should have smooth sailing to the quarters. A likely fourth round pairing with Patty Schnyder (21) should not present much of a test. However, the quarter possibilities are intriguing. 24th seed and fast returning to form Maria Sharapova (24) is a strong candidate along with hard-hitting Victoria Azarenka (8), and Nadia Petrova (10). There are four potential champions in this quarter.

Elena Dementieva whose sub-par performance in Paris has raised previously unasked questions about her fitness and heart will need to play better to knock off Dominika Cibulkova in the fourth round. Elena will probably face the always-ready Vera Zvonareva (7) or Marion Bartoli (12) in the quarters.

Our longest shot of the Wimbledon event is American 17 year old Melanie Oudin who arrived in the main draw via three qualifying wins. A month ago, the pretty Georgian was finishing her junior year in high school. Oudin plays 29th seed Sybille Bammer in the first round. Oudin could well surprise but will certainly be game.

Two surprising draws are bound to provide great play, loads of emotion and more than the usual number of upsets.