PARIS, June 8: Serena Williams traded in her sparkling silver tiara for a second grand slam crown Saturday, eclipsing big sister Venus 7-5 6-3 in the French Open final.

“I want to thank Venus for supporting me all the way and for being the best sister in the world,” the third seed beamed as she collected the Suzanne Lenglen trophy. “I just love playing here.”

The Williams family were all smiles after the last ball had been struck but Centre Court connoisseurs were left to ponder an error-filled, lacklustre final.

A feast of screeches, grunts and frustrated screams was served up during the 91 minute contest. Quality tennis was missing from the menu.

But despite the scrappy, workmanlike and for the most part ugly manner of the victory, it could hardly have been sweeter for Serena.

It avenged her loss to Venus in the U.S. Open last year — the first grand slam final between sisters since Maud Watson beat Lillian Watson at Wimbledon in 1884, and leaves her two majors behind Venus.

The 20-year-old now boasts one U.S. and one French Open title while Venus has a pair of U.S. and Wimbledon victories.

“Je veux dire merci ma mre, Maman, everybody, aussi Venus. Sans her, I would not be here today,” a giggling Serena told the crowd in her broken Franglais.

“And most of all I would like to thank the French crowd because I love to play here et l’anne prochaine je veux faire encore.”

The post match celebrations were elaborate — at one point Venus collected a camera from her mother Oracene and joined the press photographers snapping away at her sister — but the match itself was a dour affair and one best forgotten.

From the very start, it was almost incomprehensible to think the numbers one and two in the world were playing on Centre Court.

The practice session the pair had shared three hours before the start had contained higher calibre tennis as, with the trophy at stake, the pair exchanged staggeringly poor groundstrokes and swapped double-faults on a regular basis.

Serena had opted not to wear her Cameroon replica soccer kit for the final — complete with knee-high socks — but the regularity with which she put the ball in the net suggested there could be a role for her at the World Cup.

Venus was no better, spooning groundstrokes metres outside the court, netting volleys and struggling to put a serve in court.

Both players lacked any kind of killer instinct, unwilling to grind each other into the Roland Garros clay.

The intensity and savagery of their earlier rounds was missing. The sun came out but the sisters simply failed to sparkle.