Serena Williams turns attention to a third Olympic gold

If sheer dogged determination is the fuel to fire Olympic success, then Serena and Venus Williams will surely maintain their gold medal dominance when they return to Wimbledon for the Games.

Following Serena’s women’s singles championship victory at the All England Club on Saturday which brought her level with Venus’s five Wimbledon singles titles, and their subsequent triumph together in the women’s doubles.

The remarkable sisters revealed the motivations that make them such forces on the tennis court. Serena, who completed an amazing comeback from a serious foot injury and a life-threatening blood clot condition by beating third seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, admitted: “I don’t know if I would have won if Venus didn’t exist. I don’t even know if I would own a Grand Slam title or if I would play tennis. Growing up I copied Venus, everything she did.

“She was a real big influence on me. When she started winning, I wanted it so bad. When she became No 1, I had to be No 1. I had to work harder. I am just amazed by her playing and doing so well.”

Especially so in light of Venus, at 32 the older of the two women by two years, falling victim to fatigue-inducing Sjogren’s Syndrome. It was a condition that almost kept her out of contention to make the United States Olympic team. After joining with Serena to beat Czech sixth seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-5, 6-4 in the doubles final she said: “I fought everything to be in the next Olympics.

“Our dad made us watch (Olympic) documentaries growing up. He wanted us to play for him, so in the beginning we played because he wanted us to. But it became our dream. It’s definitely the pinnacle of sport.”