They did it again! King & Shvedova win U.S. Open title

Yesterday, the rain came when Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova were down 2-6, 6-4, 4-5, 0-15. It was also Shvedova's birthday, but, as it turns out, she had to wait a day to receive her most lavish gift. Today, at 3 p.m. New York time, King and Shvedova--and their opponents, number 2 seeds Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova--returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium to complete the U.S. Open championship match.

The circumstances could not have been more tense. Huber and Petrova were only three points from the title, and suddenly, King was serving at 30-40. King saved that championship point (the second onw the team saved) with a ferocious forehand swipe down the line. Later, spectators would cheer loudly when Shvedova hit a backhand lob with heavy topspin and painted the back line. Despite increased aggression by Petrova, some formidable volleys from Huber, and a fast service game for the 2nd seeds at 5-all, King and Shvedova were able to force a tiebreak. Under the most challenging conditions, they held serve.

This match "deserved" a tiebreak, so to speak, for only a tiebreak could increase the drama for spectators who had waited overnight for a result. Throughout the match, but especially during the tiebreak, King and Shvedova did the same thing they did at Wimbledon--they enjoyed themselves. And when Shvedova hit yet another line-skimming lob--this one with her forehand--at match point, it was the perfect ending to a great doubles championship match.

King and Shvedova had a quite a tournament. They defeated the top seeds, Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, in straight sets in the quarterfinals.  And in the third round, they won a wild three-hour thriller against Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

King and Shvedova had played together only twice when they entered the 2010 Wimbledon tournament and won it. Now they have done it again. In her speech, King said that, two years ago, she wasn't sure she wanted to play tennis anymore, and she didn't know if she believed in herself. How fortunate--for us, and for Yaroslava Shvedova--that King decided to keep going.