After losing a close first set and battling bravely to come back from 5-1 down in the second, the 21-year-old Spaniard was eventually downed after one hour and 23 minutes to leave Williams to receive the acclaim of the Centre Crowd.
At 33 years and 289 days, Serena surpasses Martina Navratilova as the oldest player to win Wimbledon, or any of the other three Grand Slams, in the Open era.
"It feels so good. Garbine played so well. I didn't even know it was over because she was fighting so hard at the end. She will be holding this trophy very, very soon. I am happy it was such a great match," said Williams.
