Venus Williams admitted she would love to go on and match Martina Navratilova's record of nine Wimbledon titles after overcoming sister Serena to notch up title number five at the All England Club.

At 28 and with a history of recurring injuries, the American does not have time on her side on that score.

But the tennis she produced to overcome Serena 7-5, 6-4 in a high-quality final on Saturday suggests she can at least hope to match Steffi Graf, the most recent of three women to have claimed seven titles here.

"To match Martina - that would be the ultimate," she said. "It is not easy - her career spanned three decades and I'm not sure if I have that much time. But if I did I would definitely dream of that."

Saturday's win was only the second time Venus has emerged victorious over her younger sister in the seven Grand Slam finals they have contested, and she acknowledged that particular head-to-head statistic was something that had fired her up for this encounter.

"The times I lost to her here (in the 2002 and 2003 finals), I tried my best but she put a ton of pressure on me. I remember her hitting my best serves back for winners and she just played better than me.

"There was not much I could do and I did not want that same trend to continue so that it become six and one. I've carved a little tiny notch. Now it is two and five and I am working on it."

Venus, who has won two US Open crowns as well as her five Wimbledon titles, struggled to live with the ferocious hitting of her younger sister in the opening stages of the match.

But after overturning an early break to level things up at 4-4 in the first set, she always looked the more likely to clinch a victory that she wrapped up in one hour and 51 minutes when Serena pushed a backhand wide.

"On the first match point I had, she hit a serve that was untouchable, that was classic Serena Williams," she recalled. "She was going for it to the end, so when I saw her shot go wide, I just though 'oh my God, it's five."

The competitive edge to the match, which confounded those who suggested the sisters rarely produce their best tennis against each other, was underlined when Serena drilled a forehand straight at her big sister's midriff in the third game of the match.

At that stage, the younger sibling was dominating and Venus admitted she was just hanging on, waiting for her chance.

"It was a Wimbledon final, I expected her to be all over everything I put out there. I did not really think a lot, I just kept playing," she said.

"It was not looking that great at 3-1 and 4-2 (for Serena) but when it got even it got a little bit closer.

"When the match is that close it is more exciting to win but I'm definitely in tune with my sister's feelings. You can never detract from winning Wimbledon but I was definitely thinking about how my sister is feeling.

"At no point am I able to forget that it is Serena on the other side of the net. I have the ultimate respect for her game. If I was playing anyone else I would not have had to face what I had to face today."

(AFP via China Daily July 7, 2008)