Wimbledon Championships: It will be an all-Williams final at Wimbledon for the second successive year and for the fifth time in the last six Grand Slams.

Serena, who defeated Justine-Henin-Hardenne will face her older sister, Venus, but under circumstances that cannot augur well for a competitive final.

The fight between the two sisters has regularly been questioned in championships but with Venus pulling up several times in her semi-final match against Kim Clijsters and forced to take a first-set medical break as her old stomach injury again flared up, a credible challenge for Serena's crown looks seriously blighted.

Having dropped the first set 6-4 to the world number two, Williams returned after a rain break and with her stomach heavily strapped, to completely change the tone of the match. While she noticeably brought her game up to a different level, coming back from a set and service break down to win the second set 6-3 and the third 6-1, she crumpled over a number of times clutching her abdomen.

"I could not calm myself down in that first set, I was so worried about the injury," said Venus. "The rain saved me. I went into the locker-room and Serena came in to talk to me. And my mom. She told me to just pray."

She did prey - on Clijsters.

Despite the quality of the Belgian's booming groundstrokes and her ability to live Williams's power and often match it, the penetration and accuracy of the 23-year-old American could not be contained.

"After the rain break she came back stronger," said Clijsters. "She was still hitting the ball very hard even with her stomach strain, harder actually than the beginning."

Three service breaks in the second set sent Williams spiralling towards total control of the match. When Clijsters hit a forehand into the net for 3-3 in that set, Williams was to go on win 10 out of the final 11 games.

"How is it? I don't know. Just okay, I guess," she said about her stomach. "I could definitely feel pain out there especially in that first set. I didn't know if I could play, if I could hit and I just couldn't calm down about it.

"I just knew from the first time I pulled it a few weeks ago. Finally the rain came and it took my mom and four sisters to get me to calm down. I had to accept that it had happened to me. I didn't want to accept that it happened again, that I was going to have to play in pain. I was in denial, I think.

"My mom said 'if you're going to play, play , if your not going to play, pull out. You've been fighting with this for a while.' Then my other sisters were chiming in. I was trying to take it all in. If I feel less than 100 per cent I'll still be out there for the final. I don't think the strain is as bad as the last time."

Far from scenes of open hostility and icy stares across the net, Serena Williams chose instead to make a spectacle out of Justine Henin-Hardenne on Centre Court in the other semi-final. Once again in these championships the world number one brow-beat her opponent into the backcourt and dominated the game with the power and weight of her strokes.

The 21-year-old Belgian was curtailed to fetching raking drives off both sides and by the end was simply feeding Williams furious momentum. Henin-Hardenne became the sapling in a hurricane.

Both players played down the hangover from Paris, when they crossed words after Henin-Hardenne beat Williams in the semi final. Henin-Hardenne, however, evidently forgot to tell her coach Carlos Rodriguez, the game plan. He was quoted in the New York Times as saying Justine thought Serena was "arrogant and haughty".

"Everybody has their own opinion. I don't think she thinks that about me," said Serena. "If she does she's entitled. I think she's a good player. I think she's a nice girl. I have no hard feelings with anyone."

French Open champion, Henin-Hardenne, was more dismissive of the line of questioning, suggesting the whole incident was a fabrication, the word Serena actually used to describe her at Roland Garros.

"You (media) like to make controversy," said Henin. "We don't like it. I'm not the kind of player to live with those kinds of things because I think it's really stupid. There are many things that are more important in life than one point in a match. And I know because I live (sic) very hard things in my life."

Also interrupted by rain, Williams broke serve three times in the first set for 6-2 as Henin-Hardenne struggled. The second set was no better and again she attacked the older player on her serve, taking the second set 6-2 and the match in just 70 minutes. Williams has dropped only one set to Jennifer Capriati in six matches.