NEW YORK -- Maybe there's something to those birth-order books that are so in vogue these days.

	Serena Williams, left, and sister Venus have combined to win the past three U.S. Open singles titles.

Venus Williams taught her little sister Serena another lesson Saturday night, thrashing her 6-2, 6-4 under the harsh light of prime time for her second straight U.S. Open title.

"I'm the big sister," said Venus, who at 21 is two years older. "I take care of Serena."

Oh, did she ever.

There now have been 10 U.S. Open matches between female siblings over the years -- and all 10 have gone to the elder. This one required only 69 minutes and never developed a championship rhythm.

Maybe that's because it's been 117 years since two sisters met in a Grand Slam singles final.

Afterward, Venus did not seem overjoyed.

"I feel OK," she said. "I don't exactly feel like I've won. If I was playing another opponent, I'd probably feel more joyful.

"I just hate to see Serena lose, even against me."

Serena never looked entirely comfortable on the court.

"It was a bit tough out there," she said. "I was fighting the wind, fighting myself because I was making too many errors, and I was fighting Venus. Actually, too many fights going on. I should have reduced it a bit."

Amid the swirling winds -- which were blowing steadily outside Arthur Ashe Stadium at 15 mph -- Venus reigned in her power and wisely played more conservatively than Serena. Venus struck only seven winners, but kept her unforced errors (19) to a minimum. Serena hit more winners (16), but her 36 unforced errors cost her the match.

Memo to Serena: take a little something off the fastball.

Serena has said repeatedly how badly she wanted to win the tournament after a disappointing season. Perhaps too badly.

Did Venus play smarter?

"Maybe, yeah," Serena said. "Sure, she did."

It was Venus' 15th consecutive match win and it gave her a second consecutive Grand Slam title to go with Wimbledon. Like the responsible, driven older sibling she is, Venus did not lose a set over the fortnight at the National Tennis Center.

Moreover, she is unquestionably the best player in the women's game, having won four of the past six Grand Slams.

"It could be that I'm really used to playing these Grand Slam finals now," Venus said. "That could be it. This is my fifth one so far. So I think maybe that played a factor.

"It's really just that maybe I understand the plays more than Serena does, which is putting the ball where I want it to be or drawing an error. I don't know. I don't know."

Because they orchestrate their schedules to miss each other except for the important tournaments, the sisters had met only six times previously. Venus, the No. 4 seed, won four of those six matches, but the past two raised some serious questions: Were they giving their best effort?

At the 2000 Wimbledon tournament, they met in the semifinals. There were times when it appeared No. 10-seeded Serena, who had won her first Grand Slam singles title the year before at the U.S. Open, wasn't all that unhappy that Venus was in the process of winning her first major.

Then, back in March at Indian Wells, minutes before their scheduled semifinal, Venus withdrew, citing tendinitis in her right knee. Serena walked over into the final, where she defeated Kim Clijsters for her first title of the year.

If there were any doubts about the Williams' intensity they were erased almost immediately. Serena came out swinging for the corners and held serve easily. She actually held a break point on Venus' serve but lost a gripping four-deuce game when she couldn't handle her serve.

The match's fragile equilibrium shifted in the fourth game. Venus held serve at love, literally knocking the racket out of her sister's hand with an ace to draw even at two-all. Venus scored the first break when, sitting on a second serve, she belted a backhand down the line that Serena couldn't track down.

After looking loose and confident early on, Serena seemed to tighten up. Determined to be the aggressor at all costs, she kept aiming her swinging shots at the baseline -- only to see them sail long, often pushed by the wind gusts.

Serena was broken again in the seventh game when she committed a horrific double-fault. Her lollipop serve was well long, and Venus served out the first set in a brisk 28 minutes.

The set, once so promising for Serena was a complete disaster; she lost the last five straight games.

The second set began with more of the same. Venus broke Serena -- at love, no less -- and won her serve also at love. After Serena sent another fat forehand wide, she covered her eyes in embarrassment.

And then, just when Venus had her white Reeboks on Serena's trachea, she seemed to momentarily lose interest. The lapse was enough to let Serena back in the set. Venus double-faulted, then sent not one but two backhands into the net for two-all.

Naturally, Venus broke back to lead 3-2. Soon, it was 3-all. Serena avoided a fourth consecutive service break to get the set back on serve, but at 4-all, she was broken again -- for the last time.

Starting with two double-faults, Serena could never dig out of a love-30 hole. Venus' formidable backhand cross-court winner put the match on her racket. A weak backhand into the net gave Venus her second straight U.S. Open title.

She waited at net for Serena to retrieve her errant racket and the sisters slapped hands. Then they hugged and Venus said in her ear, "I love you."

A Williams has now won the U.S. Open for the past three years and their combined record at the National Tennis Center is a muscular 48-6.

Advantage, Williamses.

Later, Serena recounted their conversation before the trophy presentation.

"She said she didn't feel like she really won because she said she always wanted to, you know, kind of protect me," she said. "I told her, 'Well, you won. Take it. You know, it's your win. It's your victory. If I would have won, I won. You won. You need it -- it's yours.

" 'Don't feel that way because, honestly, there's not enough time in one's life.' "

The only way to guarantee that they won't knock each other out before the four Grand Slam finals for the next, say, decade is to play more matches and pull up those rankings to No. 1 and No. 2.

With the Williams sisters, clearly, anything is possible.

Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.