WIMBLEDON, England -- It was the Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo, with the curtness of a Parisian hotel clerk, who said she wouldn't make a prediction on a Grand Slam final between Venus Williams and Serena Williams but that: "You have to ask them for that."

	Serena, left, and Venus Williams won their second WImbledon doubles title in three years.

So even before it happened again on Saturday at the All England Club, we did -- joining the feeding frenzy of cynicism that greets the All-Williams, All-The-Time scenarios at Grand Slams and perceives that their father, Richard Williams, orchestrates everything from near and, recently, afar.

"All I can say is, it's not true and I'm insulted that anyone would make that suggestion," Venus said, unsmiling.

"We've never discussed anything like that or (else) I would've won more Grand Slams," Serena said, smiling a lot.

Not that the British press would have been convinced both before -- " There are a lot of experienced reporters out here who've covered lots of sports and what we see just leaves that air of 'was that real?" said Malcolm Folley of The Mail On Sunday -- and after Serena's thorough dismantling of Venus as she rudely snatched away the Wimbledon championship her older sister had won the past two years.

But the questions linger. Was the quality actually that much higher than the other nine times they have played -- now five matches in Grand Slams, three of the past four major championship rounds? Why did Serena seem so much more passionate, hungrier, interested amid the 7-6 (4), 6-2 decision? Why couldn't Venus serve any faster or smarter or avoid double faults more assiduously against her sister than she does against the rest of the universe? (That's the same thing that happened in the French Open final.) A bad shoulder? Or a hardly beautiful mind? Has Serena's charismatic, more dominant personality -- when the two held a joint press conference on Friday, Younger Sis interrupted or stopped Older Sis several times, thrusting herself into a place as head spokesperson for the pair -- ultimately taking over? Or has the baby of the Siblings Sledge, bottom line -- she's won their past three meetings, Miami, Paris and now London, all in straight sets, to bring their record to 5-4 with Venus barely hanging on to an edge -- simply just advanced to become the better player?

Having impressively whipped Mauresmo in the semifinals, SW had already passed VW in the point standings, and since the rankings didn't change until this week, it made the final at the All England Club ultimately a battle between No. 1 and No. 1. But now there is really only one No. 1.

		And why should this rivalry be any more or less compelling than anything in other sports? Compared to its own ridiculous buildup, the Super Bowl is invariably a total dog. When's the last time the NBA finals were close? And who's this next poor fool to challenge Tiger? Sergio Somebody Mickelson?

"Unfortunately it's a war out here and, if there's a weakness (in this case, Venus' serve) someone's going to have to be attacked," Serena said, after doing most of the attacking while Venus was relegated to doing most of the advising -- on how to curtsy to the assembled Royals. "(But) this was great fun. We were really serving and returning. Venus running down a lot of balls. I was running down a lot, too. Many great points. A great match."

While it's true that the first set was probably the closest, most riveting of the sisters' competition -- Serena was cruising, serving for the set at 5-4, 30-0 before Venus smacked an inside-out backhand winner to begin a stretch of eight straight points that got her into the tiebreak -- the occasion in general hardly lived up to the hype that now accompanies the Williams' now inevitable confrontations at the majors.

But how could it? And why should this rivalry be any more or less compelling than anything in other sports? Compared to its own ridiculous buildup, the Super Bowl is invariably a total dog. When's the last time the NBA finals were close? And who's this next poor fool to challenge Tiger? Sergio Somebody Mickelson? The thing is Venus and Serena practice together, play doubles together, eat together, shop together, at Wimbledon share a house together.

(Vis-à-vis the current rage, stalking, however, Venus only rated a paltry pretender at the gates of their rented house in the suburbs, claiming he was there to "drug test" her. Serena went another one-up on her sister when her particular foil/follower, a German named Albrecht Stromeyer, was arrested at the gates of the All England Club earlier in the week, shouting "I love her. I would never hurt her," before being escorted from the premises by the Bobbies.)

But Venus and Serena not only think alike, they play alike. "They are not just sisters but two sides of the same coin," wrote the man from The Times. "It is just as well that they don't look alike, it is hard to know which to cheer for as it is."

Moreover, in the runup to their familial face-off, the sisters seemed as bored with the prospect as the spectators seemed ultimately watching it. What can you do to bring out the best in each other? Venus was asked. "I don't know," she said. What is the best match you guys have played. "I don't know." In the joint pre-finals presser at the All England Club the day before, the girls were asked if they were experiencing any nerves. V: "No." S: "No." Okay, how about different feelings? V: "No." S: "No." You're not discussing the match? V: "Not really." S: "I wouldn't normally be discussing my tactics with my opponent. ... You know, we should be discussing doubles questions. We would like to go home because we have a big final tomorrow."

In the most interesting moment of Saturday's contest -- Serena having drilled a missile of a crosscourt forehand to the corner to get the key minibreak in the tiebreak -- the younger sister appeared to have whaled an impressive ace to win the thing, 7-4, when umpire Jane Harvey announced "let." Any other occasion, the server serves again. This was Set Point! But this time both sisters walked to the changeover as if they either didn't hear the call or didn't even care about playing the point over again. Similarly, the crowd made no ruckus whatsoever. Deafness? Or ennui?

In the second set Venus, blooping (for her) serves in at 10 and 20 mph less than her average for the tournament, was constantly under duress in her delivery games. She trailed 0-30 in her first three service games, double-faulting and then dumping a forehand into the net as Serena's stinging power prevailed for the significant break for 4-2. Showing her true fighting qualities, Venus broke right back on a fluke angled return off her backhand. But Serena won the next game when Venus whacked double fault number six -- to only one ace -- and the next, confidently serving out the match to love.

"(Venus) didn't tell me anything about the shoulder," Serena said. "(but) I knew it was hurting beforehand. And you really have to respect her not only as a person, as a player, as a sister, because not everyone would do that."

Well, the Williams were raised that way -- "Thanks to my god, Jehovah," Serena exclaimed after becoming only the seventh woman in the Open Era to win the French and Wimbledon back to back -- and it's always heartwarming to see the care and fondness and sheer love they have for each other come out on these historic occasions.

To contradict the historic words of a bard from just up the road, however, love is not all we need. To get this rivalry bubbling, V and S, how about just a little hate?

Curry Kirkpatrick is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at curry.kirkpatrick@espnmag.com.