Hantuchova & Radwanska win Miami

Daniela Hantuchova and Agnieszka Radwanska have won the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open doubles championship, defeating 3rd seeds Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova. Hantuchova and Radwanska won the first set in a tiebreak, then Huber and Petrova quickly took the second set 6-2, but the winners prevailed 10-8 in the super-tiebreak.

Hantuchova will be playing doubles with Maria Kirilenko at the Family Circle Cup, which begins tomorrow. Huber will team with Lisa Raymond, and Petrova will be paired with Meghann Shaughnessy. Radwanska will not be in Charleston.

Wozniacki wins Dubai

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3 today in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. It wasn't until the latter part of the match, in fact, that Kuznetsova began to play in the form that has helped her win titles. For most of the match, she looked a bit sluggish, and she created a great number of unforced errors. Wozniacki, for her part, did not waver, getting back almost everything, and setting up some beautiful winning shots. She broke Kuznetsova's serve seven times.

This is Wozniacki's 13th WTA Tour title; tomorrow, she returns to the number 1 ranking position.

The ad hoc team of Liezel Huber and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez won the doubles title, defeating top seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 7-6, 6-3.

Huber beats Black in doubles

Long-time partners (and bitterly-split ex-partners) Cara Black and Liezel Huber competed against each other in doubles at the Australian Open quarterfinals on Tuesday, with Huber and Nadia Petrova defeating Black and Anastasia Rodionova 6-1, 6-4. Top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta also advanced, with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Natalie Grandin and Vladimira Uhlirova.

2nd seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik won in straight sets over 9th seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaugnessy, and 12th seeds Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko defeated Chuang Chia-Jung and Hsieh Su-Wei.

I assume that the Azarenka-Kirilennko pairing is a temporary one. Agnieszka Radwanska, Kirilenko's usual partner, was not expected to play, and was not able to make a firm decision about playing until the last minute.

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.

Huber & Bryan win U.S. Open mixed doubles championship

Liezel Huber and partner Bob Bryan won the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship today, defeating Kveta Peschke and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 6-4, 6-4 in the final. Qureshi was able to save one match point off of Bryan's serve, but Peschke could not save the second.

Top seeds to play in U.S. Open mixed doubles final

Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan, the top-seeded mixed doubles team at the U.S. Open, advanced to the final today when they defeated 4th seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Daniel Nestor. They will play Kveta Peschke and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi in the final.

Huber & Petrova advance to U.S. Open semifinals

2nd seeds Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova advanced to the U.S. Open semifinals today, with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win over 5th seeds Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs. Also advancing were 7th seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Zheng Jie. They defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaugnessy 6-4, 6-4.

These U.S. Open doubles matches are quite entertaining. It's a shame so little attention is paid to them.

Top players helping children around the world

I recently wrote that Maria Sharapova is making another trip to the area affected by the Chernobyl disaster. Sharapova has donated a quarter of a million dollars to expand a United Nations Development Programme that provides sports and other physical activities to the children in the area. The Maria Sharapova Foundation already supports health and education for children in the region affected by the Chernobyl event. Sharapova's parents fled their home in Gomel a year before she was born because of concerns about radiation.

Liezel Huber is helping children through the Locks of Love, an organization that collects hair to make wigs for children who experience hair loss because of medical conditions. Huber has cut off much of her own hair, and has also recruited several Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players, who have donated their hair.

Yesterday, Li Na visited Xining, the capital of Qinghai province in China, where the April earthquake caused extensive damage and loss of life. Li was a guest of the Huang Nan Zhou Orphanage in Xining, which has taken in many children from the Yushu community; the Yushu orphange was destroyed by the earthquake.

Li donated her Madrid prize money to the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, and has also pledged her China Open prize money. She is providing living expenses for three years for the children in the orphanage, and will also provide sports equipment and facilities to ten schools in the Yushu area. The remainder of Li's donation will train teachers in using sport to help students develop basic life skills.

Black & Huber talk about their split

Doublas Robson interviewed both Cara Black and Liezel Huber about the dissolution of their partnership. It's an interesting read--a story of frustration, disappointment and bitterness.

The article, by the way, speculates that Huber may play doubles with Lindsay Davenport later in the season. That partnership has since been confirmed: They will play together in Stanford and San Diego.

Black & Huber end their partnership

 Photo courtesy of After Atalanta

Putting an end to the rumors, Liezel Huber has confirmed that she and partner Cara Black have parted ways as doubles partners. Huber called it a "mutal break" (whatever that is), and said that "We might get back together and we might not."

The team of Black and Huber was no longer dominant last year, with both the teams of Llagostera Vives/Martinez Sanchez and Williams/Williams getting in on the big victories. Huber said that she and Black may still play together in the future, but not exclusively.

Black and Huber have been a team since 2005, though Black played for an extended time with Rennae Stubbs when Huber had to have surgery, followed by a period of recuperation, and Black was not certain that her partner would return to the tour.

Huber says that she will be playing with different partners this season. She will team with Nadia Petrova, with whom she won this year's Family Circle Cup, in Rome. Petrova is now Sam Stosur's regular doubles partner, but Stosur has made it clear that she is going to limit the number of doubles events that she enters. When Stosur does not play doubles in a tournament, Petrova is free to play with Huber, or with whomever she would like.

Black also said that she may play with Melanie Oudin during the U.S. hard court season.

In Stuttgart, Black is playing doubles with Shahar Peer, and Huber is playing with Jelena Jankovic.

USA goes to Fed Cup final

It took all five rubbers to get the job done, but the USA won its second consecutive Fed Cup semifinal today in Birmingham. Guided by captain Mary Joe Fernandez and led by Melanie Oudin, the USA defeated Russia 3-2, earning a second final contest with defending champion Italy. Earlier today, Italy defeated the Czech Republic 5-0 in the other semifinal.

The first rubber featured Oudin against Elena Dementieva, and it wasn't a pretty sight. At 3-all in the first set, neither player had held serve. Oudin then went up 40-15, but got tight and was broken again. Dementieva then went down 0-40, and Oudin broke her on her second break point. Dementieva broke her back, and Oudin instinctively threw her hand over her mouth in what I suppose is now known as an "oops, I did it again" gesture.

Naturally, when Dementieva served for the set, she was broken at love. In the eleventh game, Oudin held, and then Dementieva held, which led to a tiebreak. Dementieva prevailed 7-4, winning the last four points in a row.

As if the first set weren't strange enough--in the second set, Oudin played much better and delivered a 6-0 score. I wondered out loud what fans following the match via electronic scoreboard must have been thinking. The third set was obviously up for grabs, and Dementieva raised her level of play just enough to take it, 6-3.

The second match today featured Bethanie Matek-Sands and Ekaterina Makarova, who was substituted for Alla Kudryattseva. This was not only the best match of the day, but the best match of the semifinal, and featured some fine rallies and good shot-making by both players. Mattek-Sands skillfully took the first set 6-4, but was dominated by Makarova in the second. Winning the second set 6-2, Makarova then faded in the third, which Mattek-Sands won 6-3. Mattek-Sands was successful almost every time she went to the net, which was often, and she hit some pretty impressive winners on the run.

The doubles rubber was really the Liezel and Bethanie Show. Dementieva has not played doubles in a long time, and it showed. She and partner Alla Kudryattseva were not exactly helpless against the USA team, but they offered little resistance. Huber served really well, and she and Mattek-Sands are skillful on all parts of the court. Despite the one-sided nature of this match, it was nevertheless entertaining, largely because of Huber's animated shot-making. She and Mattek-Sands work quite well together as a doubles team. The USA won, 6-3, 6-1.

Can we please just talk about tennis?

Liezel Huber uses every opportunity to remind people that she is an American citizen. "I chose to play for the U.S. I think, in a way, I'm a prouder American than some people because I haven't always had the U.S.," Huber told The Birmingham News. I understand that sentiment, I suppose, but Huber really knows how to lay it on:

Coming to this land of opportunity, I'm so grateful. Coming with a suitcase and a dream and here I am today. This country has offered me so much that you will see during this week that I am the proudest American that you will meet. It gives me goose bumps every time to be representing my country and be on a team.

Perhaps Huber's rhetoric wouldn't grate on me so much if it didn't have (for me) some other contexts. In Charleston, she said she once felt she didn't belong because she was from a third world country. That's true, technically, but I wish she hadn't said it. Now, in Birmingham, her comments come at the same time that one of her teammates, Melanie Oudin, had to say about team membership, "It really shows who really cares about their country and who wants to play for more than themselves." 

It is entirely possible that these comments were made in isolation and that no reference was consciously made to players who are not on the team. But the results, PR-wise, are unfortunate. I should also add--for the sake of clarity--that while I certainly wish the USA team well, and will be in the stands in Birmingham, I am disturbed when national pride crosses over into chauvinism, as it seems to do more and more.

I have written, on several occasions, that I think the USA Fed Cup team needs to let go of its fixation on the Williams sisters, and move on. Mary Joe Fernandez has done a really good job with Oudin, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Huber and other team members. I also appreciate how exciting it must be for those team members to have played in the final last year, and to be in a semifinal in 2010. I just wish everyone would keep the conversation focused on tennis.

(A little) More news on the Black & Huber situation

Several people have asked whether Cara Black and Liezel Huber have split up. Huber and Nadia Petrova won the doubles championship in Charleston; however, both Petrova and Sam Stosur made it clear that they will be a team this year, though Stosur will limit her doubles play. Gene Sapakoff of The Post and Courier (via Bobby Chintapalli) quotes Huber as saying her status is "up in the air," but that she will most likely continue to play with Black.

Huber & Petrova win 2010 Family Circle Cup doubles championship

For the second year in a row, Nadia Petrova held a trophy after the championship doubles match in Charleston. Last year, Petrova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands saved three match points and won the championship. Today's match was not thrilling like that one was, but it still a good final. Petrova and Liezel Huber--who had never before played together--defeated Vania King and Michaella Krajicek 6-3, 6-4.

Petrova had not planned to play doubles at the tournament, since her partner, Sam Stosur, decided to play singles only. But Tony Huber, Liezel Huber's coach and husband, asked Petrova if she would be Huber's partner. "How could I say 'no'?" Petrova said, and I'm sure she's glad she didn't.

Since Petrova won the Charleston singles title in 2006, and the doubles title two years running, she was asked what was left for her to do at the Family Circle Cup, and she quickly suggested adding a mixed doubles competition.

Huber & Petrova to play King & Krajicek in Charleston final

The ad hoc team of Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova totally dominated Ekaterina Makarova and Marie-Eve Pelletier in today's semifinals in Charleston. Huber and Petrova, seeded number 1, defeated Makarova and Pelletier 6-2, 6-2.

In the other semifinal, Vania King and Michaella Krajicek defeated Nathalie Grandin and Abigail Spears 6-4, 7-6. This was the first match of the day, and was well-played and entertaining. King and Krajicek won the tiebreak 7-4.

Black & Huber out of Miami in 1st round

The unseeded team of Nathalie Grandin and Abigail Spears has upset top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the first round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Grandin and Spears were a mini-break down in the super-tiebreak, but held on, and won the match 3-6, 6-4, 10-7.

Williams sisters defend Australian Open doubles title

The good news for Cara Black and Liezel Huber is that they were not quickly dismissed from the court in their latest contest with Venus and Serena Williams. The bad news is that they lost again. The Williams sisters won the Australian Open women's doubles championship today by defeating the world number 1 team 6-4, 6-3. Such was their dominance, they dropped only one set the entire tournament.

Black and Huber did everything they could think of to get the defending champions off their game. They lobbed, hit balls down the middle, and focused on being aggressive. They played well, in fact--better than they did the last couple of times they played the sisters. But their efforts were not sufficient to win the title.

Venus and Serena have now won eleven major doubles titles. If they enter the remaining majors this year--and especially if they can pull off a French Open win--they have a good chance to win the Grand Slam.

Dementieva defends Sydney title

Defending champion and 5th seed Elena Dementieva won the Medibank International today by defeating top seed Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2. Williams was very error-prone and also appeared to be having trouble with her knee again, although she downplayed the problem in her post-match interview.

Number 1 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber won the doubles title, defeating Tathiana Garbin and Nadia Petrova 6-1, 3-6, 10-3.

USA Fed Cup team announced for final

Captain Mary Joe Fernandez has selected Serena Williams, Melanie Oudin, Liezel Huber, and Alexa Glatch to play in the 2009 Fed Cup final against Italy. The final will take place November 7 and 8 in Italy.

Williams sisters win U.S. Open women's doubles championship

The U.S. Open championship match between Serena and Venus Williams and the world number 1 team, Cara Black and Liezel Huber, had featured entertaining moments. With Cara Black unable to hold her serve, however, the Williams team found it relatively easy to win the championship, 6-2, 6-2.

Serena and Venus Williams have won three of the four major tournaments this year; Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual defended their French Open.

Serena and Venus Williams now hold ten major doubles titles and two Olympic gold medals in doubles. They also have also earned the career Grand Slam in doubles.