Not content to add a solitary Wimbledon title to her hefty collection on Saturday, Serena Williams teamed up with sister Venus to win the Ladies’ Doubles Championship for a sixth time.
The unseeded Americans saw off the No.5 seeds, Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court, a few hours after Serena won her seventh Ladies’ Singles title.
It was their 14th Grand Slam doubles crown from as many finals and put themr level with Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva in second place for the most major doubles titles in the Open Era, behind only Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver, who claimed 20.
“Watching Serena playing earlier was amazing and I was so into that,” Venus said. “We had to hit the reset button to get ready for the doubles. She brought the energy from game one.”
It was not the first Wimbledon Ladies’ Doubles final for the Hungarian-Kazakh pairing of Babos and Shvedova. Babos had finished runner-up at the All England Club two years ago with Kristina Mladenovic, while Shvedova claimed the trophy six years ago with Vania King.
We had to hit the reset button to get ready for the doubles. She brought the energy from game one
With games going with serve, the Williams sisters went on the offence at 4-3 in the opening set, landing the crucial break when Venus’s thunderous cross-court backhand left Babos and Shvedova stranded.
The 36-year-old then staved off three break points when attempting to close it out, before Serena put away a forehand at the net, off a lightning fast reflex volley from Babos, for 6-3.
Against the brute power of the Williams sisters’ returning, Shvedova was the first to falter in the second set, broken for 4-3 when Serena ripped a forehand at her feet to draw the error.
Babos kept the pair in the hunt, holding for 4-5 with an ace down the T, and while the smiles never left their faces throughout, it would be the Williams sisters who embraced in jubilation one game later.
Serving for the match, Venus threw in a double fault to bring up break point, but sealed the result on her second match point when Serena picked off one final backhand volley.
“It was really special to be out there again... to win Wimbledon in doubles. We love it, we love playing doubles, we love being together,” Serena said.
“I had just enough time to change and get the ankles re-taped. It was fine. I didn’t want to warm down.”
Serena was quick to point the finger with a grin when asked who was boss on court. Venus reluctantly agreed.
“I’m the older sister, so it kind of falls on me,” she said. “At different times on court though we kind of take over.”
Next stop, the Rio Olympic Games. Three times they have claimed doubles gold together. It would take a brave bet to tip against them adding a fourth.