Serena and Venus win doubles gold

Venus (left) and Serena dominated the doubles event

Venus and Serena Williams put their women's singles disappointment behind them by winning the Olympic doubles.

The American sisters cruised to a 6-2 6-0 win over Spanish duo Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual.

Victory secured their second Olympic gold, as they also won the doubles in 2000 but did not defend their title in Athens because Serena was injured.

They become only the second pair to win the title twice after fellow Americans Gigi Fernandez and Mary Jo Fernandez.

Both Venus and Serena were beaten in the quarter-finals of the women's singles event.

But they were rarely troubled in the doubles final, winning in just an hour and six minutes.

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Video - Williams sisters win doubles gold

The only tense moment came at 5-2 in the first set when the sisters squandered four set points before breaking Ruano Pascual's serve to win it.

"It does mean more for me to win it with Serena, to share this kind of moment with your sister," Venus said. "I mean, we are practically joined at the hip."

The sisters dominated the doubles tournament in Beijing from start to finish, dropping only two sets on their way to the final.

China's Yan Zi and Zheng Jie of China beat Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-2 6-2 to win the bronze.

The match was the third for eighth seeds Yan and Zheng in barely 36 hours.