The Williams sisters have previously been ridiculed for sloppy matches. That was not the case Saturday.

It was like a palette-cleansing sorbet, a blast of fresh air at the All England Club that swept away all the memories of awkward tennis and charges of fixed matches.

There were grunts and shrieks, fist-pumps, ripped backhands, aimed with malice at the midsection, a Wimbledon-record 129 mile-per-hour serve -- and a fabulous seven-deuce, 21-point game that consumed 14 minutes. There might have been more drama squeezed into this 1-hour, 51-minute ladies' final than in the 15 previous meetings between Venus and Serena Williams combined.

And so, after losing five consecutive Grand Slam finals to her younger sister -- the last here in 2003 -- Venus finally prevailed, 7-5, 6-4. As she ran to the net, ecstatic, she mouthed the word "wow" several times.

"I can't believe it's five," Venus said breathlessly on Centre Court. "When you play Serena Williams, five seems so far away."

But there it is: Five Wimbledon championships, two in a row for Venus, now at the advanced age (by the standards of professional tennis) of 28. In the four decades of Open era tennis, only Martina Navratilova (nine titles) and Steffi Graf (seven) have won here more. For a day at least, Venus has as many Wimbledon titles as Roger Federer.

In her past matches against Serena, particularly the five straight in the finals of majors, Venus seemed willing to stand by as little sister -- always in search-and-destroy mode  dictated policy.

Both sisters were asked afterward if they could, at any point, forget that their sister was standing on the other side of the net. "Yeah," Serena said sullenly. "I don't really think of it at all.

"I was out there playing for Serena." Tellingly, Venus had the opposite answer.

"At no point am I ever able to forget that it's Serena," Venus said, sounding sincere "because I have the ultimate respect for her game. If I was playing anyone else I wouldn't have to face what I had to face today, so it's impossible to forget."

And yet, Venus finally found a way to put the hammer down. It was a well-played final that saw Serena maintain a statistical edge. She had more aces, fewer double-faults, more winners and fewer unforced errors than Venus.

But Venus, older and on this day wiser, was bigger in the big points. Displaying a confidence against Serena we not seen since her victory in the 2001 U.S. Open final, converted four of seven break points, while Serena was a surprisingly tentative 2-for-13.

"I think I was maybe a little bit more relaxed than her," Venus said.

Over the years, the Williams sisters have been criticized for their emotionally flat performances against each other. This time, it appeared, they both wanted to win badly. Afterward, Serena was in a foul mood. In her postmatch press conference, she gave short, monotone answers. When asked about a curious point in which she graciously gave Venus a point on a let call, her eyes narrowed.

"I don't know," Serena said. "I forgot about the match, pretty much."

The last question was a statement: You don't look happy at all.

"I don't?" Serena said, sarcastically. "I wonder why."

Even BBC commentator and three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe, never the biggest fan of women's tennis, was impressed with the quality of the match. He actually hoped out loud for a third set.

"This is the most competitive match I've seen between them," McEnroe said. "For the first time, to me it looked like Venus wanted this match more."

It was, in retrospect, a retro day for women's tennis. The clocks were turned back five years, when the Williams' dominated the game, bringing it to a new level of athleticism.

Looking for some context? In 2003 there was fear and loathing across the United States as gas prices rose beyond & $1.40 a gallon. That was the same year that U.S. President George Bush declared Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction and ordered an invasion -- then two months later proclaimed "mission accomplished."

Since then, the sisters have suffered various injuries and, over the years, became increasingly drawn to the world of fashion and the cult of their own celebrity. There were times when they seemed bored. Maybe all those distractions kept tennis fresh, for here they were in the Wimbledon final -- not retired Belgians Justin Henin and Kim Clijsters, not reigning Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova, nor freshly minted French Open champion Ana Ivanovic.

The general consensus around the grounds was a hope that Venus could master her inclination to give in to Serena, but that the younger sister -- tougher, and more competitive -- would win.

  Sure enough, Venus lost 10 of the match's first 11 points, including a break of her opening service game. Gradually, though, Venus found an equilibrium and she broke back to level the set at 4-all. With Serena serving to get to a tiebreaker, she dropped a backhand into the net on break point, then slammed her racket to the ground.

This was significant, because in 14 of the previous 15 matches between them the winner of the first set won the match.

Throughout the match, Venus stuck stubbornly -- defiantly? -- to her strategy. She received Serena's booming serve a foot inside the baseline and paid a price as nine aces whistled past her. Venus also served into Serena's body 28 percent of the time, with great success.

"Body is my favorite here," Venus said. "You can't defend it."

Said Serena, "I think that was her tactic. I'm glad she did it, because next time I know what to expect."

Venus' relentless defense continually forced Serena to hit an extra ball or two and when she moved forward, she won 15 of 18 points at net; Serena was only nine-for-15.

For the conspiracy theorists, any questions about a predetermined result were answered in the third game. As Venus came loping to the net, Serena aimed a thundering backhand -- right at her gut. Venus, hands quickened by a deep doubles run, knocked off a reflex backhand volley that dropped for a winner. In the last game of the first set, the roles were reversed as Venus cracked a backhand at Serena, who had come to net. Serena dropped down a backhand volley winner.

So to review, seven of the last nine titles here have been lifted by a Williams. Serena's Grand Slam singles title lead over Venus has now narrowed to 8-7. The sisters have won three of the seven Grand Slams contested over the last two calendar years and the only player with two over that span (Henin) is no longer playing.

They are still happy, relatively healthy and, because they do not play heavy schedules, hungry to compete for majors. With all due respect to Sharapova and Ivanovic, it is not a stretch to imagine them playing for the U.S. Open title a few months from now.

Are the Williams' experiencing a renaissance?

"I would love that," Venus said. "The goal is to stay healthy, so that way we can play singles and doubles and have a lot of fun with it."