Venus claims Wimbledon crown

Williams, competing in her sixth final at the All England Club, overpowered her 22-year-old opponent with a display which was ruthlessly effective at key moments.

The American met with stubborn resistance throughout as Bartoli, who was clearly fatigued from Friday's epic triumph over number one seed Justine Henin, battled bravely for every point.

Bartoli had produced one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history in toppling Henin but there was to be no fairytale ending to her fifth appearance at SW19 and best run at a Grand Slam event.

But she had made history by contesting the lowest-ranked women's final at the All England Club - Williams was seeded 23 and Bartoli 18.

Williams sounded an ominous warning when she blazed through the opening game by winning every point, and then picked apart Bartoli's serve in the second.

The Frenchwoman, ranked 19 in the world, looked nervous and double faulted on break point to hand Williams a 2-0 lead.

Williams was glued to the baseline where she could overpower her opponent with a string of accurate, powerful strokes.

With her stamina sapped by Friday's epic against Henin, Bartoli double faulted once again to concede another break point in the fourth - only for Williams to squander the opportunity with a long forehand.

It was Williams' turn to double fault in the fifth, conceding two break points and hitting the second long to haul her opponent back into the set.