Wimbledon | Williams wins 4th title, joins legendary club

WIMBLEDON, England — Centre Court at Wimbledon is a world away from Compton, Calif. But to Venus Williams, it has become as familiar as her old backyard.

The court that vexes so many tennis players and rewards so few has been the scene of Williams' greatest triumphs. On Saturday, it became the scene of her most improbable, as Williams became the lowest-seeded woman in Wimbledon history (23rd) to hoist the champion's trophy.

In defeating unlikely finalist Marion Bartoli of France 6-4, 6-1, Williams claimed her fourth Wimbledon title. And in doing so, she joined Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Billie Jean King as the only women to have won the sport's most prestigious title at least four times in the Open era, which started in 1968.

Navratilova won nine singles titles and Graf had seven. King took six overall, four in the Open era.

Williams became the first woman at Wimbledon to earn prize money equal to the men's champion, who will be decided today when Roger Federer plays Rafael Nadal.

After thanking her younger sister, Serena, whose Australian Open victory earlier this year inspired her stirring run, and a support base that includes her parents, trainers, agent and boyfriend, Williams paid homage to King, who looked on from the Royal Box.

"No one loves tennis more than her," Williams said. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

The Williams sisters have turned Wimbledon into a family fiefdom this decade, with Venus winning four titles (2000, '01, '05, and '07) and Serena two (2002, '03).

Neither was regarded as a favorite this year, given the injuries that have limited their schedules. But in the span of 12 days, Venus transformed herself from an error-prone player to an unbeatable force, dispatching the world's second-, fifth- and sixth-ranked players in succession.

In her news conference afterward, Williams was asked if it felt like two different tournaments: one in which she nearly lost to virtual unknowns, and one in which she toppled greats.

No, she said. From the moment Serena won the Australian Open as an unseeded player, Venus knew she could take Wimbledon regardless of her ranking, her seeding or the esteem in which she was or wasn't held by the sport's prognosticators.

"As long as we're fit, we just have so much to give on the court," the 27-year-old Williams said.

But former world No. 1 Tracy Austin could scarcely believe the transformation.

"I think only the Williams sisters can do that — where they can turn a switch on and kind of convince themselves to play with confidence," said Austin, a commentator for the BBC.

If Williams had reason to draw confidence from Centre Court, Bartoli, the tournament's 18th seed, had none.

In seven years as a touring pro, the Frenchwoman never had advanced beyond the third round of a Grand Slam event. But like Williams, she gained momentum with each round, beating the tournament's third- and top-seeded players to earn her first championship berth.

It had the makings of a rout from the moment they strode on court, each carrying the traditional floral spray bestowed upon the women's finalists, with ball girls trailing behind carrying their racket bags. Bartoli, 22, never had been treated so royally. She had never walked on Centre Court before Friday's semifinal. She also had never received flowers from a famous actor before. But there they were at her locker Saturday morning — from Pierce Brosnan himself, whose presence at the semifinals spurred her upset of world No. 1 Justine Henin of Belgium. And Bartoli dreamed of another first — winning Wimbledon and dressing up in a beautiful gown to attend the Champions Ball.

But reality intervened, in the form of Williams' power.

Williams served a love game to open the match and raced to a 3-0 start while Bartoli hopped in place, trying to relax her legs in the face on the onslaught. She never had faced a 124 mph serve, and she couldn't believe the terrific vibration it sent through her wrists.

Bartoli dug in, though, and broke Williams' serve to even the score at 3-3. But Williams played better still, covering the court with her seemingly impossible reach and firing shots back at stunning pace.

"She reached some ball like I never see one person reach some balls like that on a tennis court, and she would even hit it hard back to me," Bartoli said.

"I mean, it's not possible to beat her. She's just too good."