Venus beat her in last year’s Wimbledon final, but as it turned out, Venus was not Serena’s toughest opponent this year. Serena had to save a match point in the third set against Elena Dementieva in the semifinals, and this is the third time in her career that she has won a Grand Slam singles title after being match point down along the way.

“She almost was out in the semifinals,” Venus said. “She just hung in there long enough and got the win.”

With her 30th birthday near, Venus had struggles of her own at Wimbledon this year, and one of the differences Saturday just might have been the extra bit of predominantly white attire that Venus was sporting on her left knee. She began taping that knee during the second round here, and her father and coach, Richard Williams, who left London before his daughters’ latest final, said before his departure that Venus was in pain earlier in the tournament.

Venus dislikes discussing injuries. But she had an abbreviated warm-up before the final, and there were moments when she appeared to favor her left leg slightly.

“I have no complaints from the beginning and no complaints now,” Venus said of her knee. “Everybody has something they’re dealing with. I just have no complaints. You know, I wish I could have done a few things different here and there in this match. But, you know, it was close.”

At least the first set was close. With both sisters dominating on their serves and looking edgy from the baseline, there were few extended rallies. But the plot line improved in the seventh game when Serena had to save two break points before holding.