Jul 20, 2008

Black and Huber hold top seed at Stanford tourney

No. 1-ranked doubles team in the world sticks together

By John Reid / Daily News Staff Writer

The going got tough for the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the world - Liezel Huber and Cara Black - in Saturday's Bank of the West Classic semifinals at Stanford University. So the dynamic duo toughened up and got it going in the right direction. Facing the tournament's No. 4 seed in Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus and Russia's Anastasia Rodionova, Black and Huber survived for a 4-6, 6-3 (10-7) victory. Black, from Zimbabwe, and Huber, a U.S. citizen who was born in South Africa, moved on to today's final at 11:30 a.m.

"We went up 3-1 in the first set," Huber said. "We broke serve, then they broke us back. That was unfortunate, but I thought we had the momentum. We couldn't quite recover. We thought we had them figured out. It just showed us we couldn't relax in the second set where the same thing happened. We went up 4-1 and they came back 4-3. We put our foot down."

Black and Huber joined forces three years ago and have been putting their foot down on the pedal ever since. They have combined to win three Grand Slam doubles titles, winning Wimbledon in 2005 and 2007 and the Australian Open in 2007. A victory today would give them their sixth WTA doubles titles this year. The pair stands 1,200 points ahead of the next competitors in the world rankings, though they were ousted in the semifinals at Wimbledon.

"We were the experienced team (today)," Huber said. "Not taking anything away from them. They figured our game plan out. We all know each other and they're great players. But, at the end of the day, we were the better team."



Height differential

Upon first glimpse of Black and Huber, one sees the obvious height differential. Huber is 5-foot-11, while Black stands all of 5-5. Yet Black is as good at the net, if not better, than Huber.

"We compliment each other in that way," Black said. "Liezel's the strength. She sets it up for me at the back and I'm the one at the net with fast hands. I try to pick off the volleys whenever I can. She has great ground strokes. We're fortunate that she can come in, as well. We mix it up a lot."

Black, born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), comes from a tennis family. Her older brothers, Wayne and Byron, are professional players, both playing doubles. Wayne won the 2001 U.S. Open and the 2005 Australian Open, while Byron won the 1994 French Open.

"Cara has the best hands in the game," Huber said. "Her reflexes are the fastest ever. Her brothers are pro players. She has been No. 1 in the world longer than I have been No. 1. We try to play our strengths as much as we can and our weaknesses as little as we can. Our strength is me pounding the ball and looking for the short ball, then Cara picking it off at the net."



Geographical connection

Huber, 31, is 2 1/2 years older than Black. The two met when they were in their teens playing youth tournaments.

"Tennis is a small world," Huber said. "I think Cara was 13 or 14 years old when we met. I think we played each other in a satellite (tour tournament) in Zimbabwe. Just being in the same continent in countries that are neighboring each other, we felt a connection. We see each other and we feel like family. We have the same values. We knew we would be a good team. It has been a dream."

However, it wasn't a magical pairing, initially.

"We thought we had something special, at first, but we didn't," Black said. "We expected our results and they weren't happening. We knew we were good players. We lost five or six first-round (matches) in a row."

Huber and Black were about to call the whole thing off, but decided to give it one last try at a tournament in Berlin.

"We said, 'This is it,'" Black said. "The Berlin tournament was going to make or break us. We put our foot down, gave it one last shot and made the final. That was a big tournament for us."

Huber and Black won the doubles crown at Rome the next week. Then it was an appearance in the final of the French Open. Then it was a victory at Wimbledon.

What goes up, must come down, apparently. Huber blew out her knee four days after the win at Wimbledon, had major knee reconstruction, then was out the rest of the season.

"In 2006, Cara didn't know if I was going to be the same player or not," Huber said. "She played with someone else, fair enough. That year was the year for me to get myself back in."

Huber managed to keep her ranking in the top 20, then rejoined Black to start 2007.

"We won the Australian Open right off the bat and the rest is history," Huber said.

"We learned from the first time we had played together," Black said. "When we started back together in 2007, we weren't going to just sit back and let it happen. We had to make it happen."



Olympic berths

Huber, who played for South Africa in Sydney in the 2000 Olympic Games, has been married to a Texan for nine years. A resident of Houston, Huber became a U.S. citizen a year ago, which has allowed her to play for the U.S. Team in Beijing this year. Huber is scheduled to pair with Lindsay Davenport in doubles.

"I chose not to play for South Africa in 2004 because I wanted to be eligible to play for the U.S. this year," Huber said. "Being selected for the U.S. Team is amazing. It doesn't seem real. It's the highest of compliments I could have received. To be chosen for the team and to play with someone like Lindsay Davenport is just amazing. She's a former world No. 1 and a former gold medal winner."

Huber isn't concerned that the three Americans slated to play singles for the U.S. - Davenport and sisters Serena and Venus Williams - are all currently battling knee injuries.

"If you ask everyone how hurt they are, they're probably hurt," Huber said. "The main goal is the Olympics. We're taking next week off. For us to win a medal would be unbelievable. The goal is to be really rested."

There's a possibility that Huber and Davenport will face the Williams sisters in doubles in Beijing.

"I'm not going to jump the gun and say we're going to win the gold medal," Huber said. "But, I wouldn't go unless I didn't think we have the chance. The Williams sisters are unbelievable. I hope they're not in our half of the bracket. I hope we play them in the final."

Black was awarded a wild card entry for the Olympics in singles. She is the No. 1 player in Zimbabwe, a country bereft of quality players.

"I'm very lucky to be playing singles at the Olympics," Black said. "There is no one to play doubles with in Zimbabwe, so I didn't think I would get a chance. I'm very excited."

Should Huber and Black win the doubles final today, they'll split the $30,000 champions purse.



E-mail John Reid at jreid@dailynewsgroup.com.