Serena's grand-slam sweep leaves Venus in the shade

The Williams sisters are sick of being asked what it takes to beat them. The other top players are sick of being asked, too. Venus is just sick of being beaten by Serena.

The elder sister smiled sweetly for the cameras and consoled Serena when she was overcome by emotion after winning the Australian Open, her fourth consecutive Grand Slam. "I wish I could have been the winner," Venus told the crowd at Melbourne Park after losing 7-6, 3-6, 6-4. "But you have a great winner, Serena, and now she's won all four grand slams, which is something I'd like to do myself some day."

Earlier, Venus sat glumly in her courtside chair as Serena blew kisses to all corners of the Rod Laver Arena. The 2hr 22min match had been the closest and hardest fought of four successive all-Williams finals. Asked whether that made the defeat more painful, Venus replied: "They all are not fun to lose, to be honest. This one isn't any different."

Saturday's match was the only final of the last four to go to three sets, and after Venus fired an ace to level at one set apiece, a different outcome seemed conceivable. But as hard as she struggled, she could not wear Serena down. She fought off break points, but she could not get ahead. After her serve deteriorated in the third set, the younger sister moved in for the kill.

Only a few points separated them. Serena said: "It was really tough. I think if she'd served really well in the third and the first, the way she did in the second, I wouldn't have had a chance."

Venus said Serena had been "probably a little mentally tougher out there than I was today". She added: "I think she played really well and she made me hit a lot of balls. But I think that I kind of backed off my game, wasn't nearly as aggressive as I was in my other matches."

Why not? She could not answer satisfactorily, and no doubt the dynamics of their relationship will be picked over for years to come. Their father, Richard, predicted years ago that Serena – described by one Australian tennis writer yesterday as "the female version of the Alpha male" – would surpass Venus because she had a mean streak.

For now, Serena is all smiles and goodwill. Only four other women have held all four major titles at the same time: Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Maureen Connolly. Serena said: "I just can't believe I can be compared with these women. I've always looked up to them and I'm not sure I can accomplish everything they have, but even to be in their category of winning four in a row is something I've always dreamed of."

Having won the first grand slam of the season, she now has a calendar Grand Slam in her sights. "This is just the beginning of fun," she said. I can't wait to get back on the clay [at Roland Garros] and slide."

The question is whether anyone can break the Williams monopoly on the game. Kim Clijsters, who lost to Serena in the semi-finals, said she was tired of being asked about the gap between the sisters and the rest of the field. But it seems the gap is narrowing. Only nerves prevented Clijsters from reaching the final. France's slightly built Emilie Loit gave Serena a bad scare in the first round.

The rivalry between the sisters, meanwhile, is sharper than ever. Serena has five grand-slam titles; Venus has four. Asked if Serena's latest win made her hungrier for success, Venus replied: "I don't want to be the player that won four grand slams, whether she wins five or 15. When you look at the great players who have won 20 and all those kinds of numbers, I still have a long way to go. So I definitely have to start racking them up somehow."

SERENA'S SLAMS

27 May 2002
FRENCH OPEN bt Venus Williams 7-5, 6-3

24 June 2002
WIMBLEDON bt Venus Williams 7-6, 6-3

26 August 2002
US OPEN bt Venus Williams 6-4, 6-2

25 January 2003
AUSTRALIAN OPEN bt Venus Williams 7-6, 6-3, 6-4