Serena, who beat her sister in their previous two meetings in the final, began confidently and superb returning gave her an early lead but Venus clawed her way back and stole the set 7-5.

Serena broke after an epic game in the second to go 2-1 up but Venus hit back immediately and took the set 6-4 to seal the match in one hour and 51 minutes.

Seeking a third title at the All England Club, Serena made the perfect start with a break of serve in the opening game of the match.

The 26-year-old led 2-0 and won 10 of the first 11 points before Venus levelled at 4-4 and gradually gained the upper hand.

Another break of serve in the 12th game gave Venus the set 7-5 after 53 hard-fought minutes.

Venus held serve in the opening game of the second set, helped by a record-equalling 129mph serve.

But Venus was unable to repeat the trick in her next service game, saving six break points but slipping over beyond the baseline on the seventh to give Serena the advantage.

Venus immediately broke back to level at 2-2 and the next five games also went with serve until Venus forged two match points on her sister's serve in the 10th game.

Serena saved the first with a thumping ace but an errant backhand on the second enabled Venus to successfully defend her title.