The elder Williams defeated her sister 7-5, 6-4, ending her sibling's recent dominance in their head-to-head matchups.

Serena previously won both Wimbledon final meetings in the last seven years and had been victorious in five of the siblings' six Grand Slam final matches. Serena also was a 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7) winner in a semifinal match at the Bangalore (India) Open in March.

"I can't believe that it's five," the seventh-seeded winner told reporters after a successful defense of her 2007 Wimbledon title. "Serena played so awesome (and) it was really a task to beat her. My first job is big sister and I take that very seriously."

Serena took only two of 13 break points, while Venus won four of seven.

"She was a little bit better today and it didn't work out the way I planned," the sixth-seeded Serena said.

Venus rose to 5-2 in her seventh Wimbledon final and owns 37 titles in 59 career championship matches.

Her victory was worth just under $1.5 million, while Serena claimed $750,000.