venus claims fourth crown

Williams picked up the trophy for the fourth time.

Venus Williams claimed her fourth Wimbledon singles title with an efficient 6-4 6-1 victory over Marion Bartoli on Centre Court.

Williams, competing in her sixth final at the All England Club, overpowered her 22-year-old opponent with a display which was ruthlessly effective at key moments.

The American met with stubborn resistance throughout as Bartoli, who was clearly fatigued from her epic triumph over number one seed Justine Henin, battled bravely for every point.

Bartoli make a nervy start, immediately falling 3-0 down, but she fought back well to recover to 3-3.

However, when Bartoli was serving to save the set in the 10th game she wilted in the face of a ferocious onslaught from Williams, who accompanied every shot with a loud cry of intent.

A double fault handed the 27-year-old two set points. The first was saved with a fine passing shot but Williams smashed the second out of reach.

Bartoli came under siege early in the second set and initially dug herself out of trouble with a series of crisp forehands, only to then be broken by a thunderous Williams backhand.

Play was interrupted when both players required treatment.

When play resumed there was no way back for Bartoli and she was broken again in the sixth game to leave the writing on the wall.

Serving for the match, the American ended Bartoli's resistance with an unstoppable serve to take the set 6-1 - and with it the title.

Williams admitted the victory was made all the sweeter by her season-long struggle with a wrist injury that has affected her world ranking.

She said: "I have so many people to thank. My sister Serena inspired me by winning the Australian Open at the start of the year. I wanted to be like her.

"My mum helped me out in the first round and my family knows what I went through when I was off with the injury.

"It was a long road back with some tough losses to take. But it was great to be here and Marion was a really tough opponent.

"It's so exciting to win four titles. I always believed I could do it, but to actually do it is something different completely."

Bartoli said: "I'm disappointed with the result but I have to thank everyone on Centre Court for the support I've had.

"The world number one on grass is Venus so congratulations to her for the way she played here.

"For me to play in the final on Centre Court was a dream come true and it is possible because of one person only - my dad. Thank you, Dad.

"I'll be happy if I come back here next year and reach the final again - with the trophy in my hands."

In the delayed men's singles semi-finals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal set up a repeat of last year's final in contrasting fashion.

Federer saw off Richard Gasquet in straight sets, winning 7-5 6-3 6-4, to progress.

Gasquet fought hard in the opening set, forcing Federer to save three break points, but the Swiss pounced in the 12th game to take control.

And whe he broke early in the second set for a 2-0 lead, it was clear that he was to have no problems reaching a fiifth consecutive final.

In it he will play Nadal after the Spaniard took advantage of Novak Djokovic's injury.

The Serb had battled for four and five hours respectively against Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis on the previous two days and it all finally caught up with him.

Djokovic took the first set 6-3 but was clearly struggling with a severe blister on his left foot as Nadal hit back in the second, taking it 6-1.

Attempts were made to treat Djokovic's problem but when he fell 4-1 down in the third, he decided enough was enough.

In the mixed doubles, Brtion Jamie Murray reached the final with Serbian partner Jelena Jankovic.

The pair won twice in the day, beating ninth seeds Marcin Matkowski and Cara Black in the last eight before winning their semi-final against 11th seeds Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva.

They will play either Jonas Bjorkman and Alicia Molik or Fabrice Santoro and Severine Bremond in Sunday's final.