Venus lands fourth title
Saturday, 07 Jul 2007 23:17
Williams dispatched Bartoli in straight sets
Venus Williams has been crowned Wimbledon champion after an emphatic 6-4 6-1 win over Marion Bartoli on Centre Court.
The two players had made light of their seedings – 23rd and 16th respectively – en route to the final and fittingly they proved no guide to the result in the showpiece match.
Bartoli, struggling with both the occasion and the effects of her marathon semi-final win over Justine Henin yesterday, surrendered serve at her first attempt.
Williams could have stretched further ahead but squandered another break opportunity in the fourth.
That miss briefly seemed to gain significance as Bartoli levelled with a break of her own in the fifth and errors started to spread through the American's game.
But as she tried to hold serve in the tenth game the French player's early nerves appeared to make a re-emergence and Williams made a break to kill off her challenge.
A set down, Bartoli never looked like mounting a comeback and she was forced to have treatment on a blistered foot early on in the second.
Williams showed no mercy and twice picked off the 22-year-old's serve before sending an ace whistling past her opponent's racket to claim the Venus Rosewater Dish.
"It is so exciting. It has been a long road and I have had some tough losses but I brought it together here," Williams said after her win.