WIMBLEDON, England -- When their most riveting all-in-the-family final was finished, the last punishing stroke swatted, Serena and Venus Williams finally made eye contact and chatted.

	New Wimbledon champion Serena Williams, left, is congratulated by her sister Venus Williams.

New Wimbledon champion Serena plucked a loose lash from Big Sis' eye. Venus, her 20-match winning streak at the All England Club over, reminded Little Sis to curtsy when handed the trophy.

Once again, just two best friends. Sisters.

Serena captured her second straight Grand Slam event by beating two-time defending champion Venus 7-6 (4), 6-3 Saturday in a pulsating display that featured more stellar shots than their title matches at the U.S. Open and French Open combined.

"It was really fun,'' Serena said. "We were really serving and returning. Venus was running down balls. I was running down a lot of balls, too. It was a good match to watch.''

Unlike their previous eight matches, which tended to be more lackluster than blockbuster.

And now there's little doubt that Serena is No. 1, which she will be for the first time in Monday's new rankings.

Serena didn't drop a set en route to her first Wimbledon championship, has won a season-best 19 straight matches, and is 36-3 with a tour-leading five titles in 2002.

Plus, she's beaten her older sister three straight times to pull within 5-4 in their pro careers. At 20, Serena is 15 months younger.

	IMPRESSIVE COMPANY
	Serena Williams joins an elite list of players in the Open Era who have won the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year: 2002 -- Serena Williams 1988, '93, '95-96 -- Steffi Graf 1982, '84 -- Martina Navratilova 1974 -- Chris Evert 1972 -- Billie Jean King 1971 -- Evonne Goolagong 1970 -- Margaret Court

"She was just tremendous today,'' said Venus, who drops to second in the rankings. "There wasn't a lot between us. Just on some of those points, she was getting some that I couldn't get.''

Particularly in the first set, each Williams was at the top of her game. They traded powerful strokes and dueling grunts from the baseline, aiming for the lines -- and hitting them.

A sketch of one of the points would look like a "Batman'' strip:

Crack! Serena delivers a serve at 100 mph.

Boom! Venus whacks a backhand return to the corner.

Pow! Serena laces a cross-court forehand.

And so on.

It came down to two key statistics. Serena had more winners, 20-14, and Venus had more double faults, 6-2.

The last came on break point in the eighth game of the second set, on a serve that fluttered over the net at 67 mph and landed 6 inches wide. Quite out of character for four-time major champion Venus, who regularly tops 100 mph but had a sore right shoulder. She stretched it during the last changeover and after the match.

"I noticed it. Definitely,'' said Serena, who won the family's first major title at the 1999 U.S. Open. "If I'm a competitor, I'm going to have to notice it. Unfortunately, it's like a war out there. If there's a weakness, someone's going to have to be attacked.''

On Sunday, No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt will face No. 28 David Nalbandian for the men's title. Nalbandian is the first player to reach the final in his Wimbledon debut in the Open era. He advanced by finishing off a rain- and darkness-delayed 7-6 (2), 6-4, 1-6, 2-6, 6-2 semifinal victory over Xavier Malisse.

Two hours after the sisters' final, they returned to Centre Court and reached the doubles final by beating Anna Kournikova and Chanda Rubin 6-7 (3), 6-0, 6-3.

The singles final was the first between siblings at Wimbledon since the very first edition in 1884, when Maud and Lillian Watson wore hats and long dresses.

	SISTER GRAND SLAMS
	2002 Wimbledon Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams, 7-6 (4), 6-3 2002 French Open Serena Williams def. Venus Williams, 7-5, 6-3. 2001 U.S. Open Venus Williams def. Serena Williams, 6-2, 6-4. 1884 Wimbledon Maud Watson def. Lillian Watson, 6-8, 6-3, 6-3.

Settling Grand Slam titles is nothing new to Venus and Serena.

They met in the U.S. Open final last September (Venus won despite only seven winners), and in the French Open final last month (combining for 101 unforced errors in Serena's victory).

And just as in those encounters, they seemed to try to block out the idea of facing a sister. After all, it's not often in pro sports that a championship is decided between people who live and practice together.

Serena strode out first on Centre Court, with Venus two steps behind. They didn't look at each other while at the net for the coin toss. Venus' changeover chair faced a baseline, her back to Serena's chair.

Instead of urging herself on with loud screams of "Come on!'' or swings of a clenched right fist after good shots -- as she does against anyone else -- Serena seemed to want to hide such displays, turning her back to Venus after key points.

There were occasional shows of emotion, though. Serena bounced her racket off the court after dumping a backhand into the net on break point while serving for the first set at 5-4.

Both were demonstrative after the pivotal point of the match, with Serena ahead 4-3 in the tiebreaker. A shot by Serena slapped the net tape and went over, Venus got to the ball and responded with a drop shot that Serena whipped for a backhand passing winner down the line.

Serena pumped her fist; Venus raked the grass with her racket.

Serena ended the set three points later with a 100 mph ace that curled like the tail of a Q.

The second set was less spectacular, and was pretty much over in the sixth game, when Venus double faulted to give Serena a break point, then put a forehand into the net to make it 4-2.

Serena ceded the next game with four errors (she totaled 25, Venus 22), but she broke to 5-3 and served out the match.

When it ended on a return into the net, Serena dropped her racket by the baseline, and went to the net, where Venus draped an arm around her shoulder. Venus sat down, letting Serena soak in the spotlight and standing ovation.

Then, whatever disappointment Venus might have felt at losing her title was overtaken by a desire to make sure Serena knew what to do next.

"No one told me the first year that you have to curtsy, so I was just running around like a fool,'' Venus said. "I made it a point to tell her that you have to curtsy. I said, 'Did you know that?' She said, 'No.'''

That might just be the only thing Serena needed help with Saturday.