Women's singles final latest:

S WILL'MS (US) 6 v V WILL'MS (US) 7

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By Ian Westbrook at Wimbledon

1402: Sixteen-year-old Jordan Riley tossing the coin on behalf of the Dan Maskell Trust. Jordan will be competing in the Paralympics in Beijing in September.

1400: The two sisters emerge on to Centre Court in beautiful sunshine - each carrying a bouquet of flowers and followed by two ball girls carrying their bags of rackets.

1353: Serena Williams' turn: "I am really happy to be in the final but I want to do more than just be in the final. It's really special and I'm really excited to be playing my sister as she deserves to be in the final.

"I remember winning the first final against her - that one did mean a lot to me. I always thought I would win Wimbledon and if you put a lot of hard work into something you kind of expect the results to come.

"This is what Venus and I have worked for over the years. I don't know what to expect. I want to go out and feel like I am playing the best player - I will have to bring out my A game.

1348: Venus Williams reflects on her Wimbledon memories on BBC1: "I made my debut in 1997 and that was a tough tournament as we waited about five days to play and I had a lead and I didn't know how to handle it.

"When I beat Lindsay in the final I knew I was going to win - it was wonderful to have that confidence. The second match against Lindsay was epic, it was sorry someone had to lose, it was unbelievable.

"I hate losing more than I did in 1997 but I handle it better. I hope to still be playing here in four years time but in eight years time I hope to be at home with some kids."

1346: Afternoon everybody. The assembled press waiting for Rafael Nadal will have to wait a little longer as his practice session continues and his press conference has been put back.

By Piers Newbery at Wimbledon

1345: Well, we're nearly ready to go with Venus against Serena so I will hand you over to Ian, who will take you through the match. Rafa's still practising by the way. Nails.

1342: "The sniffer dogs are back yet again. Just had a very entertaining five minutes playing with them in the Broadcast Centre corridor and former tennis players galore stopped to give them a pat. Only takes eight weeks to train them. (We think he means dogs, not ex-tennis players - Piers). Might get one. One of them was called Reggie and the other one is called an inadvertently rude name that I really wouldn't want to have to shout out loud in a park if he ran away."
BBC Sport Mole

1338: From Kid Creole to Living Doll to We are the Champions - the band of the honourable artillery company can do it all. For those of you planning on watching Laura Robson in the girls's singles final, she should be on at around 1530 BST and will be on BBCi and streamed through this very website. We'll also give you the key moments here as we concentrate on Venus and Serena.

1331: Nadal is still going out on Court 14 after nearly an hour and a half. The man's a marvel. He's only got 20 minutes until he's due in the press room though, I hope someone's told him. Anyway, if you missed it yesterday the Spaniard had a knock up with John McEnroe on Court Five. It's worth another look.
McEnroe warms up with Nadal

1330: Blimey, the band are only playing Nessun Dorma now. I'm filling up. Chris ruddy Waddle.

1325: Laura Robson has great potential if she can float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Watch her serve, ace in the making!"
From Astrologer via text on 81111

1321: "They also made Monster Munch smaller a few years ago see 1234 entry). Sad times."
From anon via text (Other monster influenced potato-based snacks might be available)

1320: Tracy Austin on the women's final: "I'm calling it as 51 to 49 in Serena's favour in the final. It's so close you almost have to flip a coin, but for me, Serena is serving incredibly well. She had 13 aces and 30-40 unreturnable serves against Zheng Jie in the semi-final."
Tracy Austin on Venus v Serena

1312: Thank you flash new Wimbledon scoreboard, which tells me we are listening to the band of the honourable artillery company. Meanwhile, tension mounts as Jeremy Bates (and Anders Jarryd) prepares to take on comedy tennis legends Mansour Bahrami and Henri Leconte on Court One at 1400 BST. What dastardly japes will they cook up to try and upset Batesy? Borrowing a policeman's hat? Offering their racquets to some ball boys? Playing a shot while standing on a linesman's chair? Or mabe they have something new lined up for Bates. And Jarryd.

1305: The net is up on Centre Court, the spectators are slowly taking their seats, and the brass band is out and ready to go. It's the ones with bearskins. My gran would kill me if she heard that description, but she is unlikely to be surfing the interweb.

1300: Rafa continues his lengthy practice session on Court 14. It's all very well for him but the large crowds watching are hampering access to the nearby press restaurant, from where a piping hot cup of tea should be winging its way right now. Bad news for Brits Phillipson and Reid as they go down 6-0 6-2 to defending champions Ammerlaan and Vink of the Netherlands in the wheelchair doubles.

1252: "When does Laura Robson play her final?"
From Jenni via text on 81111 (Robbo is second up on Court Two, probably at around 1530 BST)

1246: "Trip up to Commentary Box Three and it is very apparent that cabin fever and insanity have set in. Five minutes of conversation spent critiquing tuna flippin' baguettes. Some sample comments - Piers: 'The cucumber mustn't be too thick'; Caroline: 'I'd prefer it if they had sweetcorn'; Piers: 'Bread's too doughy'; Mole: 'Too mayonnaisey.' Think it's time everyone went for a lie down in a dark room."
BBC Sport Mole

1240: "The gulf in class is showing as the Dutch win the set 6-0 but Reid, now wearing sunglasses, serves strongly in the opening game of the second set and the Britons are on the board."
BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson

1234: I swear they're making the tuna baguettes smaller. They did the same thing years ago with Wagon Wheels (other circular transport-based chocolate and wafer-filled confectionery is available), but they didn't fool me. Unaware of the controversy and chatting away happily in the press restaurant were Aussie legends Mark Woodforde and Darren Cahill.

1227: "There's a relatively big crowd watching Phillipson and Reid in the wheelchair doubles on Court 3. The Britons got an enthusiastic welcome but they have made a nervous start."
BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson

1218: Less than two hours to go until the women's final and Serena is out practising on Court Five in front of a huge crowd, while Venus is just finishing up on the next court and Nadal is thumping down serves on Court 14. Meanwhile, Rog continues to be grilled by the press. "How much do these finals hurt you?" "Not at all."

1211: "If it is not a great final today let us not blame the sisters - the other 126 players in the draw should take a long hard lo ok at themselves for providing as much resistance as a shredded shower curtain. I for one (anyone else ?) will enjoy watching two exceptional role models play for the title with their high degree of skill, boundless enthusiasm for the game of tennis and life itself, their competitive but very fair attitude and their strong sense of family. If my two young daughters develop one iota of each of these attributes i will be a very proud father."
From anon via text on 81111

1205: Roger Federer wanders into the press room for his pre-final news conference and is asked straight off the bat, "Are you worried that your French Open defeat will affect Sunday's match?" His response? "No." OK then.

1201: A rare treat for those with ground passes as play gets under way on Court Two, where Hana Mandlikova and Sabine Appelmans take on Liz Smylie and Nathalie Tauziat. Lovely.

1157: "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to follow the live tennis and british gp together on bbc coverage? its so stressful and relentless that i reckon i should be compensated with free tuna baguettes."
From Aliah via text on 81111 (Tuna baguette - you read my mind)

1150: The Mole has stopped by and with unnaturally sharp eyesight for one of his species has pointed out that Baroness Margaret Thatcher is atop the Royal Box list. No sign of David Cameron or Gordon Brown though. Or the other one.

1143: There is more British interest on Court 3 at 1200 for the first of the semi-finals in the wheelchair doubles event. Scottish teenager Gordon Reid and British number one David Phillipson from Nottingham will be up against the defending champions Robin Ammerlaan and Ronald Vink from the Netherlands. It's going to be a big test for the Britons, who were recently named in the GB team for the Beijing Paralympics. They have been getting some bits of advice from former British number one Jayant Mistry who is part of the BBC commentary team for the game and who won the inaugural title here in 2005 with Frenchman Michael Jeremiasz. The other semi sees French duo Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer against the experienced Martin Legner of Austria and Tadeusz Kruszelnicki of Poland.

1134: "After a morale sapping start to Ladies' final day that involved a drenching and yesterday's Hoff debacle still hanging heavy in the air, things are looking up. The brass band on the hill are pumping out Live and Let Die, I've just had a vigourous and prolonged sniffing from a police dog and the sun is out, sort of. Let's get this show on the road."
BBC Sport Mole

1126: No nonsense in the Royal Box today. It's goodbye Parkie and co, hello tennis lady legends - Janes, Navratilova, Novotna, King, Wade! And former New York mayor David Dinkins and cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. Random. Martina will be sitting with Sir Cliff by the way. More random.

1117: BBC Sport commentator Sam Smith on Laura Robson: "She's terrific. It's not hype because she's what we've all been waiting for and she's so self assured, she's got a great personality. A lot of talk will be about how she's going to cope in the future but she's got good management and family support. From now it's about getting great advice, making the right decisions, talking to former champions. She's absolutely wonderful to watch, she's going to be fantastic."

1105: The all important weather news and it's..... mixed. A bit cloudy now right now over the All England Club but the BBC forecast says: "The rain should tend to clear from London but only to be followed by a rash of showers. It's going to be breezy at Wimbledon but most of the rain will have cleared away for the womens' final." And lo and behold, the sun comes out and I'm already regretting not wearing shorts.

1100: Good morning, and welcome to the penultimate day of the Championships, with Venus and Serena Williams attempting to steal the limelight from Britain's Jeremy Bates as he continues his relentless pursuit of the senior invitation doubles title. With Anders Jarryd. And, of course, Commentary Box Three favourite Laura Robson will try to become the girls' singles champion at the tender age of 14. When I was 14, my sole aim in life was to get served in a pub.

- We'll be here throughout the day to bring you the latest news from around the All England Club, both on the courts and off, so whether you're settling down at home, stuck in the office or queuing on Church Road, send us your thoughts.

(BBC)

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