Babos and Shvedova pose with the runners’-up shields. That’s a nice moment for the two women, even in defeat. Shvedova will long remember a tournament that brought a singles quarter-final and a doubles final. Babos, meanwhile, at only 23 years old, clearly has a bright future in the game if she continues in this vein. As for the Williams sisters, well, what more can one say? Even at the combined age of 70, they remain unbeatable. Thanks for reading and good night.
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The Williams sisters smile and wave to the crowd as they make their way up to the Royal Box to receive their trophies. That’s their sixth ladies’ doubles title at Wimbledon. And to think all they wanted was a warm-up for the Olympics.
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Game, set and match Venus and Serena Williams, 6-3, 6-4!
Second set: Venus*/Serena Williams 6-3, 6-4 Babos/Shvedova (*denotes server)
A lively exchange on the opening point prompts further laughter from the fifth seeds as they scream at each other to leave a floated ball down the middle. It was the right call, too, the ball drifting long. 0-15. Serena intercepts to end the next point in summary fashion. Babos hits a lovely winner down the middle to bring up 15-30, but from there it’s a game of fine margins that all seem to go against Babos and Shvedova. First Shvedova narrowly fails to find the baseline with a stinging return, then, a couple of points later, Babos misses the alley by a hair’s breadth. Another missed return brings up match point, and the American duo seize the opportunity as Serena intercepts to pound away one final backhand volley. What a day for the Williams family.
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Second set: Venus/Serena Williams 6-3, 5-4 Babos*/Shvedova (*denotes server)
They may be fighting for their lives here, but Babos and Shvedova are all smiles. Babos sends down an ace to hold, and Venus will now have to serve for the match.
Second set: Venus/Serena* Williams 6-3, 5-3 Babos/Shvedova (*denotes server)
Serena makes a hash of a relatively simple volley at 15-0, but atones with a crisp interception on the next point. Serena sends down a rocket for 40-15, and Babos then slams a backhand return into the middle of the net. A 14th grand slam doubles win beckons for the Williams sisters.
Second set: Venus/Serena Williams 6-3, 4-3 Babos/Shvedova* (*denotes server)
Uh oh. With an hour and 13 minutes on the clock, Shvedova seems to clock out mentally. A couple of loose shots bring up 15-40, and it’s the softest of breaks. With Serena to serve next, the fifth seeds are staring down the barrel here.
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Second set: Venus*/Serena Williams 6-3, 3-3 Babos/Shvedova (*denotes server)
Lest we forget, it was Babos and Shvedova who took down the top seeds and defending champions, Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. That was in the last eight. Venus won’t be thinking about that right now, however, what with holding to square the set at 3-3 and all.
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Second set: Venus/Serena Williams 6-3, 2-3 Babos*/Shvedova (*denotes server)
Babos holds to love as Venus misses a backhand return. The Hungarian has been excellent today.
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Second set: Venus/Serena* Williams 6-3, 2-2 Babos/Shvedova (*denotes server)
Evidently keen to remind Shvedova precisely where she is and with whom, Serena replies in kind, seeing out a comfortable hold with an ace. And so the initial stages of the second set follow a similar pattern to the first, all four players holding serve with something to spare. Venus and Serena will no doubt be hoping the set ends the same way the first one did, too.
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Second set: Venus/Serena Williams 6-3, 1-2 Babos/Shvedova* (*denotes server)
Clearly buoyed by the illustrious company she’s keeping of a Saturday evening these days, Shvedova gives it some serious Williams. Which is to say that she sees out her service game from 30-30 with two successive aces. Anything you can do, and all that.
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Second set: Venus*/Serena Williams 6-3, 1-1 Babos/Shvedova (*denotes server)
Helped along by her little sis, Venus presides over a quick hold.
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Second set: Venus/Serena Williams 6-3, 0-1 Babos*/Shvedova (*denotes server)
Expect Serena to wake up tomorrow with “Slazenger” emblazoned on her shoulder after taking one for the team on game point. Needless to say, it’s Babos and Shvedova who claim the opening game of the set.
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Venus and Serena Williams win the first set 6-3!
First set: Venus*/Serena Williams 6-3 Babos/Shvedova (*denotes server)
With the breaks suddenly flowing freely after a solid start from all four players, Venus misses a backhand volley at 30-30 to raise the prospect of another dropped service game. The danger is averted, but only temporarily. Two more break points come and go courtesy of some fine interventions from Shvedova, and the Americans are on the edge again. But when Babos goes long off a return at deuce, it brings up a set point. Some ferocious hitting from Venus, who stays back behind her serve, is complemented by a brutal interception from Serena, and that’s the opener to the Williams’. Great set of tennis, that.
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First set: Venus/Serena Williams 5-3 Babos/Shvedova* (*denotes server)
A brilliant exchange at 15-15 goes the way of the fifth seeds when Shvedova steers away a backhand drive volley. The Williams sisters seemed to be everywhere at once there, Serena lunging for a forehand volley, Venus backpedalling superbly to an overhead, but all to no avail. I’ll tell you what does avail the American pairing, though, and that’s the forehand Venus slams down the middle for a winner at 30-30. The wonderful precision of big sister’s returning on the break point isn’t bad, either. It’s too much for Babos, at any rate, who finds herself passed at the net as she tries to intercept. Venus to serve for the set.
First set: Venus/Serena* Williams 4-3 Babos/Shvedova (*denotes server)
It’s doubles – roll the first serve in with a spot of kick and get to the net, right? Um, no. Well, not if your name is Serena at any rate. A 116mph serve carries the American pairing to game point at 40-30. Babos and Shvedova hit back to carve out a break point, but Serena is having none of that, either. She digs Williams Inc out of trouble with a big forehand, and a couple of points later they’re home and dry.
First set: Venus/Serena Williams 3-3 Babos*/Shvedova (*denotes server)
It’s a measure of the closeness of this contest that we’ve been going for half an hour and it’s only 3-3 in the opening set. Venus atones for that lost service game by rising to club home a forehand drive volley at 30-30, and completes the job with a backhand volley winner to break the Babos serve. They stepped on the gas there, did the Williamses.
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First set: Venus*/Serena Williams 2-3 Babos/Shvedova (*denotes server)
At 30-30, Babos punishes a modest second serve from Venus to bring up break point. Serena, clearly not impressed, intervenes at the net to avert the danger, almost taking off the Hungarian’s head with a brutal smash. The look on her face as she turns to Venus suggests she means business. But at deuce she makes a dog’s breakfast of a forehand volley, setting up another break point for the fifth seeds which they take when Venus double-faults. First blood to the seeded pair.
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First set: Venus/Serena Williams 2-2 Babos/Shvedova* (*denotes server)
It’s been a good Wimbledon for Shvedova, whose singles ranking of 96th should improve a notch or two after her run to the last eight, where she lost to Venus in straight sets. And it continues here with a straightforward hold to 15, despite a Venus return at 40-0 going straight down the middle of the court untouched by either player. We’re all square.
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First set: Venus/Serena* Williams 2-1 Babos/Shvedova (*denotes server)
Up steps the woman of the moment. In case there were any doubt about who the boss is around here, Serena conjures a spectacular forehand pass on the opening point – scrambling to her right, she finds an impossibly acute angle on the cross-court – before sauntering to 40-0. But the fifth seeds aren’t about to be bullied. At 40-15, Babos body-lines Venus off a return, sparking a sequence of points that suggests they’ve taken a look at their opponents and decided the older sister is also the weaker. But they look out for each other, do the Williams girls, and Serena comes up with a couple of big serves – not for the first time today, it must be said – to see out the game. A good, even contest so far.
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First set: Venus/Serena Williams 1-1 Babos*/Shvedova (*denotes server)
Babos, the Hungarian ranked a highly respectable 44th in the world in singles, knows what it is to contest a Wimbledon doubles final. She reached the final alongside Kristina Mladenovic a couple of years ago, only to go down in straights sets against the all-Italian pairing of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. That’s not an experience she’ll care to repeat here. Having double-faulted at 30-30 to set herself up for a tricky opening service game, Babos looks relieved when Venus drives a forehand return long.
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First set: Venus*/Serena Williams 1-0 Babos/Shvedova (*denotes server)
It should be some party at chez Williams tonight. Not only has Serena just claimed her seventh Wimbledon title and 22nd major overall, she’s now a game to the good in the ladies’ doubles final courtesy of some fine work on serve by Venus. Good start by all four women.
The players have just completed the warm-up and we’re about to get underway. Big cheers for the Williams sisters as they step out. Venus to serve.
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Preamble
Serena and Venus Williams playing doubles? Must be an Olympic year. The sisters last contested the Wimbledon ladies’ doubles final in 2012, when they beat the Czech pairing of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in straight sets to claim their fifth title together at the All England Club. It was their 13th grand slam win together, and a few weeks later they would return to Centre Court to take Olympic gold, beating the hapless Hlavackova and Hradecka again to become the first pair in history to win the women’s doubles three times. They’ve been resting on their laurels in the interim, with this the first major final they’ve contested since that heady English summer. But the prospect of a fourth Olympic gold has lured them out into the open again, and they’ve cut a swath to the final with victories over the 11th, fourth and eighth seeds.
Facing them are Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, the fifth seeds. They won’t want to dwell too much on the record of their opponents in major finals: it’s 13-0. Ouch.
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