By Mark Staniforth, PA Sport

Serena Williams is poised to take the women's game to new heights after snatching both the Wimbledon title and the world number one ranking from her elder sister Venus.

Serena's 7-6 6-3 win in the final produced her second consecutive Grand Slam title at the age of 20 and the awesome resolve about her victory silenced the grumbles of some of her vanquished opponents that the Williams family dominance was bad for the game.

"I'm definitely good for the game," said Serena, a winner's cheque for £486,000 in her back pocket. "I'm really exciting, I smile a lot, I win a lot and I'm really sexy."

Serena's rise to the top merely completes a promise made by the sisters' father Richard six years ago. He predicted they would one day hold the top two places in the rankings and contest the Wimbledon final.

She has had to get used to a media spotlight virtually unprecedented in the history of the women's game and her fame has already come at a price - a man was bound over at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court last week for stalking her.

But Serena, younger by one year and three months, shrugged off the various pleasures and perils of superstardom and insisted she would remain focused on becoming one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

"I definitely live a different life than most 20-year-olds," Serena said.

"You have some pop stars who are maybe living the life I'm living.

"It's totally different but I'm just normal. None of it goes to my head and I have normal friends. I'm just as normal as anyone else - but it's going to be impossible to be exactly the same."

Serena and Venus saved their best match for their ninth and most important meeting to date, but Serena merely completed something she had threatened to do all tournament and usurped her elder sisters' 24-month hold on the Venus Rosewater Dish.

Serena won because she cut down dramatically on the unforced errors which resulted in her quarter-final capitulation to Jennifer Capriati in last year's quarter-finals.

It was an explosive display which provided unexpected satisfaction for the Centre Court crowd, some of whom had previously expressed their disappointment about the family final line-up.

And while they will both go home having won over Wimbledon, Serena also gave a glimpse of their gradual integration onto a women's tour whose other members had often been critical of their separate or aloof lifestyles.

"Chanda Rubin and I get along well, Alexandra Stevenson and I are really good friends, and Kim Clijsters, she's a really nice girl.

"We always talk. There's lots of other players. We all definitely get along."

But there is little doubt that the sibling rivalry between the pair remains their strongest link and something from which they both draw strength.

Serena said she was worried about Venus' longstanding shoulder injury, which perhaps contributed towards a wayward serve which Serena broke four times in the match.

Venus was clearly tremendously disappointed that she had relinquished her hold on the Championship afterwards, making a mockery of unsubstantiated claims that the results of their matches are decided by their father beforehand.

And from Serena in her moment of triumph there were still consoling words for the sister she has finally eclipsed.

"I knew her shoulder was hurting beforehand. I said 'are you okay?' And she said 'it's okay, don't worry about me'.

"And you really have to respect her as a person and as a player and as a sister, because not everyone would do that.

"She never lets anything bother her like that. That is why she is where she is. Venus is a real champion."