| | Associated Press
WIMBLEDON, England -- The Williams sisters are racking up
major titles and promising many more to come.
Two days after winning the Wimbledon singles title, Venus
Williams teamed with Serena Williams to beat Ai Sugiyama and Julie
Halard-Decugis 6-3, 6-2 on Monday to become the first sisters to
capture the women's doubles championship.
|  | | Venus, left, and Serena Williams display their doubles trophy Monday after defeating Ai Sugiyama and Julie Halard. |
The doubles final was postponed to Monday because of rain that
extended the men's final -- won by Pete Sampras over Patrick Rafter -- to dusk Sunday.
The 70-minute victory gave the Williams' their third Grand Slam
doubles title. They also won the 1999 U.S. Open and French Open.
Two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles apiece and Serena's 1999
U.S. Open single's trophy round out the silverware so far.
"We're both going to try to get as much as we can,"
20-year-old Venus said.
"We're both really greedy," said Serena, 18.
With her 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over Lindsay Davenport in
Saturday's singles final, Venus became the first black women's
champion at Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1957-58.
Venus was playing in only her fourth tournament this year after
being sidelined for six months with tendinitis in both wrists.
Serena, 18, had a two-month layoff with tendinitis in her knee.
"It's really amazing for us to come back like this," said
Serena, who lost to Venus in the semifinals. "People are going to
practice harder to beat us. But you know what? We are too. We mean
business.
"We can do a lot better. We're not playing our best tennis
right now. There's a lot of room for improvement."
Next target? The next Grand Slam, of course. "For me, the U.S. Open," Venus said.
"For me, too," said Serena, who will defend her title when the
tournament opens in late August.
The sisters are also determined to compete for the No. 1
ranking. When Serena joined the tour in 1998, Venus predicted they
would be ranked 1-2 by the end of the year, but it hasn't happened yet.
Venus will move up to No. 3 this week behind Martina Hingis and
Davenport, tying her career best. Serena will rise to No. 7.
"We've had a few hurdles to jump, as far as injuries and
consistency go," Venus said. "But we're on our way. We believe in
ourselves. I don't think I'll be able to attain No. 1 this year.
It's going to be tough. But next year, I definitely have the
opportunity starting at the Australian Open."
"We're able to beat all the players out there, getting more
consistent with it," Serena said. "We can't take it (No. 1) this
year. It will have to be next year."
The Williams sisters had no doubles ranking because they were
injured and played so little together this year. They needed a wild
card to enter Wimbledon and were seeded eighth.
Their biggest problem Monday was waking up on time.
The sisters had attended the champions dinner Sunday, both
wearing sleeveless gowns, and didn't get back to their rented house
until after midnight. Their father, Richard Williams, had flown
home to Florida earlier Sunday.
"I said, 'Serena, you have to go to bed as soon as possible,"'
Venus said.
"She took over as a parent," Serena said.
Their mother, Oracene, who did not come to Wimbledon, called
Monday morning. "I was somewhat in a coma," Venus said. "It was 8:30. We went
to bed at 2. I couldn't think. I told her I'd call her back."
The sisters were a bit sluggish in the early going, losing serve
in the opening game and falling behind 3-2.
From then on, the Williams team won eight straight games and 10
out of the last 12, overwhelming their fourth-seeded opponents with
stinging serves, returns and volleys. They slapped hands after each
point, win or lose, and whispered tactics to each other between
points.
After Serena drilled an ace on match point, the sisters hugged
each other. They held the winner's trophy aloft as they paraded
around Centre Court to a standing ovation from the near-capacity
crowd of around 12,000.
There was a carnival atmosphere in the stadium. Fans did the
wave at the end of the first set, with guests in the Royal Box
joining in. At several stages, spectators shouted, "C'mon
sisters!"
Centre Court tickets for Sunday were valid for Monday's play,
while tickets were available to the general public for the discount
price of $7.50, with proceeds going to a children's charity.
There were long queues outside the All England Club, with an
estimated 3,000 people lined up for tickets in the early morning
for the so-called "People's Monday" match.
"People here really support the sport from the first day,"
Serena said. "The stadium is packed to the last day. This is not
like America, where they come only for the finals or semifinals.
It's really different here."
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