The world’s top-ranked women’s doubles team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber have accomplished plenty in their partnership together, winning one Australian Open, two Wimbledons and one US Open title.
But the pairing has yet to add one major notch to their belt – beating the formidable Williams sisters, whom they’ll face in Friday's doubles final.
On Thursday, the American-Zimbabwean combination bested Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1 1-6 6-3, while Serena and Venus overcame compatriot Lisa Raymond and Aussie Rennae Stubbs 6-3 7-6(6).
Huber, a native of South Africa, wants another chance at facing the multiple Grand Slam-winning sisters, as the Williamses blew them out at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.
“Wimbledon was awful,” said Huber. “We knew they owned the courts at Wimbledon in singles, and we had won Wimbledon titles in doubles. We were feeling like we should own them instead of just playing, and we lost pretty badly. At the US Open, even though we lost 6-2 6-2, the score didn’t reflect how the match went. I saw a lot more things in their game that I can learn from. They are strong, hit the ball so hard and are bigger than us, but if we play our best, it’s not impossible for us to beat them. We have to capitalise on their bad 10 minutes, if they have them.”
Black and Huber have been on a tear since they took the courts in Auckland at the start of this year, winning the title there, following it up with another run to the crown in Sydney, and then winning five straight matches in Melbourne, only dropping one set along the way.
“It says a lot about us as a team that we came out strong this year,” Huber said. “We are coming strong to try and to prove ourselves again after 2009, where we finished No. 1, but the year was a disappointment because we play for majors, and who wants to be a No.1 without winning any Slams at the end of the year?”
The year certainly wasn’t an outright disaster, or the duo wouldn't have finished in the top spot.
They did win five titles, including Dubai, Madrid, Cincinnati, the Paris Indoors and Birmingham.
The hard-hitting Huber and the cagey and quick Black form a unique combo, and is one that communicates well together. They’ve been together on and off since 2001, and both have played with other partners, but never had the same chemistry with other players.
“Even when we don’t play well, we can still win on bad days,” Huber said. “I have a hunch when she wants to go up the line, or when she’s going to serve in certain spots and even if one of us wants to run a play that the other one thinks is the wrong decision, we support the other one. It’s having trust in each other. We have tough times just like any relationship, but we’ve learned from them.”
After playing the Fed Cup final in the United States’ loss to Italy in November, Huber decided to go right back to the drawing board, working out at the track at her home in Texas and engaging in triathlon training sessions. She wanted to make sure that Black could count on her lasting through long matches.
“Australia is the Slam where the fittest people win,” she said. “You look at Amelie Mauresmo when she won, and she was the fittest. The same thing with Justine Henin now.”
Whether that’s going to be enough to stop the Williams sisters, who are the defending Australian Open champions and have won 10 majors together overall, remains to be seen. But Huber and Black are relishing the challenge.
“We want a rematch,” Huber said.
“We really want to play them here in the final, because that’s what we play for.”
Watch the 2010 Australian Open live online at bet365 > Live Streaming Tennis