Venus Williams stood in the middle of Centre Court, clutched the Venus Rosewater Dish to her chest and giggled like a schoolgirl.

She had won the Wimbledon singles trophy for the fourth time and joined a pantheon of greatness in the Open era which comprises Martina Navratilova, Billie-Jean King and Steffi Graf.

"Wow," she mouthed, and up in the Royal Box Navratilova and King smiled down in the knowledge that pretty soon Williams, still only 27, could be out there on her own.

On a day for parasols rather than umbrellas Williams defeated Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-1 in a final which was closer and more intriguing than the scoreline suggests, even if the result was never in doubt.

Later Williams predicted the tennis world would soon be witnessing all-Williams finals again as she attempted to catch sister Serena's tally of eight Grand Slams.

"It's my sixth Slam and I want some more," Venus said.

"When it comes to Wimbledon I have more but on the overall count I have less (than Serena).

"We motivate each other. We love each other and inspire each other like that. A Williams final could happen again."

In fact Venus, who took months out of the game last year battling a wrist injury, trails Serena's Grand Slam tally by two but she is the first to benefit from Wimbledon's decision to offer equal prize money, which means she picked up £700,000 for her afternoon's work.

And while she will not be keeping her latest trophy by her bed, as she did her last one in 2005, it still has a special place for her.

"This one is different," she said. "In the others I was playing championship form from day one.

"In this one I had to overcome challenges like being seeded low. It's wonderful.

"I was so glad it was the last match because I was done. I'm very tired but I feel on top of the world."

Bartoli, by contrast, was happy just to have put up a fight.

She had put her shock semi-final victory against Justine Henin down to the presence of James Bond, aka actor Pierce Brosnan, who returned the compliment by sending the French girl flowers.

This time there was no 007. Just a number 23 seed defeating the 18th seed in a Wimbledon final, a combination which is unparalleled and most likely never to be seen again.

Bartoli has a freshness of personality and a battling attitude which endeared her to Centre Court. She is anything but conventional.

Before each point she turns to the green backdrop and practises her swing. Her serve has a strange axe-swinging kink and, while not wishing to be unkind, for a top player she could perhaps do with losing a pound or two.

Her two-fisted backhand and scampering style are not easy on the eye, but she knows how to battle and she needed to after going down 3-0 in the first set.

To her credit she clawed back the break of serve, aided by a Williams double fault, and traded big groundstrokes with an opponent who hits the ball harder than any woman on Earth.

At 5-4 to Williams the set was in the balance until Bartoli threw in a double fault, courtesy of the gusting conditions, and then saw Williams smash away a high backhand volley of huge technical difficulty worthy of winning any set.

The second set began much like the first, Williams powering into a 3-0 lead, although the rallies were fiercely contested containing one overhead one-handed reverse smash from the American which defied the laws of physics.

There is much to be said for possessing telescopic arms and legs. But then came a bizarre double medical time-out which interrupted play for 11 minutes.

First, Bartoli called the trainer to attend to blisters while Williams took a bathroom break, returned bizarrely apparently with an injury to her thigh for which she also received treatment.

Physical or psychological? Only the two women knew but at least Bartoli displayed wit and charm by joining in the Mexican Wave to while away the time as Williams was treated.

Would Williams lose her edge? Would the break benefit Bartoli?

The answer came as Williams slipped back into that big-hitting stride, shrieking with effort, generating the power which is a match for any woman and, you suspect, many men.

The end came when Williams thundered down another 120mph plus serve which all but thudded into the solar plexus of her opponent.

It prompted a generous tribute from Bartoli.

"Venus played some unbelievable tennis," Bartoli said. "She reached some balls like I have never seen anyone reach on a tennis court and then hit it back harder at me.

"I played a great match but she was just too good. When she plays like this on grass, it's not possible to beat her."