WIMBLEDON, England — Improbable as this Wimbledon title might have seemed, Venus Williams knew it could happen.

Far away as that trophy might have appeared only last week, Williams knew she had the game and the grit to grab it.

Oh, how her serves and strokes sizzle on the grass of Centre Court.

With a dominant run through the latter rounds, Williams became the lowest-ranked woman to win Wimbledon, beating Marion Bartoli of France, 6-4, 6-1, yesterday for her fourth championship at the All England Club.

"I was really motivated because no one picked me to win. They didn't even say, 'She can't win.' They weren't even talking about me," said Williams, who reached No. 1 in 2002 but entered Wimbledon ranked No. 31. "I never would doubt myself that way."

Even after missing time with a left wrist injury? Even after being two points from defeat against a teenager ranked 59th in the first round? Even after trailing 5-3 in the final set against someone ranked 71st in the third?

There really wasn't a smidgen of surprise that she once more got to clutch the Venus Rosewater Dish, as the Wimbledon champion's plate happens to be known?

"For me? No," she said. "I just have to go out there and execute. I have the experience and everything to do it."

It was similar to the performance turned in by Williams' younger sister Serena in January, when she won the Australian Open while ranked 81st. Clearly, rankings mean nothing when it comes to the Williams siblings. Nor does recent form.

If they are in a tournament, they can win it.

"As long as we're fit," the 27-year-old Williams said, "we just have so much more to give on the court."

Bartoli, who hits two-fisted forehands and backhands, learned that lesson quickly.

She hadn't faced Williams anywhere, let alone on grass — where balls skid more than they bounce — and Bartoli quickly discovered it was like nothing she'd ever experienced on a tennis court.

By the end, she was flexing her wrists and shaking her hands, trying to alleviate the sting from Williams' serves at up to 125 mph.

"I'm not playing against girls every day hitting the balls like this," Bartoli said. "I mean, it's not possible to beat her. She's just too good."

Similar has been said about top-ranked Roger Federer, who will bid for a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title in the men's final today against No. 2 Rafael Nadal. Federer beat Richard Gasquet, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, in a semifinal yesterday, while Nadal advanced when Novak Djokovic quit because of an infected blister on his left little toe while trailing 3-6, 6-1, 4-1.

Nadal will be playing on a seventh consecutive day because of all the rain during the tournament. Williams was forced to play her last four matches without a break, and she dropped a grand total of 22 games while beating No. 2 Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals, No. 6 Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals, and Bartoli.

It was a remarkable display of shotmaking, court coverage and consistency, match after match. Not only did Williams whip perfectly placed strokes from all sorts of angles, she repeatedly tracked down opponents' apparent winners and got them back.

Against Bartoli, she compiled a whopping 27-9 edge in winners and won 13 of the 18 points that lasted at least 10 strokes.

"I know how to play this surface," said Williams, the first woman to receive the same paycheck as the men's champion at the All England Club. "If there's a surface to pick, grass at Wimbledon's not a bad choice."

FEDERER FACES NADAL, HISTORY IN MEN'S FINAL

Federer sneaked a peak at Bjorn Borg in the Centre Court stands, then carried on with the business at hand.

One eye on the past, one on the present.

Troubled little in his semifinal win, his 33rd consecutive victory at Wimbledon and record 53rd in a row on grass, Federer strolled into what amounts to a two-sided challenge in the final:

Today, Federer will try to beat his present-day nemesis Nadal, to equal past star Borg's mark of five straight Wimbledon championships.

"It is tricky when you see him sitting there, because he is a living legend," Federer said, sounding something like a teen who spotted his favorite rock star. "I have so much respect for him that it is great that he's here. I hope I can do the job tomorrow."

Like last year at the All England Club, and the past two years at the French Open, the men's championship will be decided by No. 1 vs. No. 2, Federer vs. Nadal, Roger vs. Rafa. Each of those earlier Grand Slam finals went four sets, with Federer winning on the grass, and Nadal winning on the clay.

"Sure, he's the favorite. No one has any doubt about this," Nadal said, ignoring his 8-4 career record against Federer. "But I'm going to try my best, no?"

One would assume he also will have to be at his best to have a chance on this surface against Federer, someone so talented on the court and so universally well-liked off it that Borg said yesterday he wouldn't mind seeing the Swiss star equal his 1976-80 reign at Wimbledon.

Djokovic tried to grin and bear it against the relentless Nadal with a bad toe plus a bothersome lower back, not to mention sheer exhaustion from playing on a sixth consecutive day thanks to rain interruptions.

"It's been a very strange two weeks," Djokovic said.

Nadal, of course, has won three French Opens in a row, something no one had done since Borg. Now, like his rival Federer, Nadal is chasing Borg again, trying to become the first man to win at Roland Garros and the All England Club in the same year since the Swede did it every year from 1978-80.