Richard Williams had flown home early, safe in the knowledge that the name ‘”Williams’ would be on the winner’s trophy after the ladies’ singles final. The full name, was ‘Venus Williams’, who defended her title against sister Serena.

Venus Williams described winning her fifth Wimbledon title as sending her into “the stratosphere”. She praised her sister, the beaten finalist, as “the ultimate sportsperson” and said she hoped to win more trophies.

British wheelchair doubles pair David Phillipson and Gordon Reid are optimistic for the future despite defeat to Dutchmen Robin Ammerlaan and Ronald Vink. French pair Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer are also through to the final.

Polona Hercog and Jessica Moore reached the girls’ doubles final after a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Brion’s Jocelyn Rae and Jade Curtis. They will meet Isabelle Holland and Sally Peers who beat Misaki Doi and Kurumi Nara.

Rafael Nadal wasn’t in a very talkative mood at today’s pre-final press conference. But with a third Wimbledon final against Roger Federer to prepare for, who can blame him?

After Roger Federer lost the French Open final a month ago, many people were predicting he had lost it. But here he is again and now only Rafael Nadal stands between himself and a record sixth straight title.

Venus Williams claimed her fifth Wimbledon singles crown after ending her losing run against sister Serena in Grand Slam finals to win 7-5, 6-4 in a riveting match which wonderfully lived up to the occasion.

Venus and a bee – the competition is now closed. See here for the winner.

Today is men’s semi-finals day, with defending champion Roger Federer taking on Marat Safin and Rafael Nadal playing Rainer Schuettler. Follow all of Friday’s action here on the live Wimbledon blog.

Centre Court Debenture holders will be able to enjoy new dining facilities during the 2008 Championships, with a range of new bars and restaurants in the new Centre Court stadium. View 360 degree panoramics of the new facilities.

The men’s and ladies’ finals traditionally start at 2pm on Centre Court. The ladies’ final is provisionally scheduled to start on Saturday at 2pm, with the men’s final at 2pm on Sunday. All start times are subject to change due to weather.

Marat Safin simply had praise for Roger Federer after his 6-3, 7-6, 6-4 loss and admitted he would have been better prepared if he had been playing regularly against top players such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick.

Serena Williams is in the hunt for a third Wimbledon title but to achieve another success she has to overcome her most familiar opponent – big sister Venus, a four-time winner here.

Sisters Serena and Venus Williams look pretty invincible on their own and together they never allowed the Franco-Australian alliance of Nathalie Dechy and Casey Dellacqua to get a foothold in their doubles semi-final.