Serena Williams beats Venus Williams to win the Sony Ericsson Championships

Serena Williams beats Venus Williams to win the Sony Ericsson Championships

Serena Williams defeated her sister, Venus Williams, 6-2, 7-6 and won the Sony Ericsson Championships title in Doha.

Serena broke twice in the first set and lost just seven points on serve. She looked sharper than Venus in every facet of a match that featured few long rallies and little of the spectacular tennis the two have provided in some of their previous meetings.

There were no breaks during the second set, as they didn’t budge until the tie-break. Serena raced out to a 5-1 lead and, although Venus closed the gap to 5-4, Serena then hit an ace and sealed the match with a crosscourt forehand winner, and celebrated calmly with a simple fist pump before hugging her sister at the net.

“Playing Venus in the finals was tough,” Serena said. “Even though she wasn’t feeling good, she was getting every ball back. I can’t tell you how frustrating that is! Playing her is never easy.”

“Now my losing streak in tournaments that aren’t Grand Slams is over!” added Serena. “Coming out here and doing well is so exciting. I totally didn’t expect to come here and win. My practice at home wasn’t going so great, but I just kept fighting.”

Venus Williams looked tired after rallying for a three-set win over Jelena Jankovic“>Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals, and each of her other group matches went three sets.

She played with her left knee strapped while Serena had strapping on her left thigh.

“It was the end of the season, so I have no complaints,” Venus said about her fitness level. “You have to show up and play no matter what. So that had nothing to do with it.”

“I have to congratulate Serena for playing a great match today and having a great tournament,” Venus said. “I’m happy with my week. I want to thank my mom, dad and sister Isha, who supports us non-stop.”

Source AP/WTA
Photo credit should read KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images