CARA Black and Liezel Huber reasserted their claim as the undisputed world women’s tennis doubles champions when they won the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open title in Cincinnati, United States, on Sunday.
According to reports from Cincinnati, the two hottest teams of the year, both of which had four titles this season, squared off in the doubles final.
And it was co-world number ones and top seeds Black of Zimbabwe and her American partner Huber who beat number seven seeds Nuria Llagostera vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, both of Spain, in a match tie-break victory, 6-3, 0-6, 10-2. Black and Huber now have five titles this year on the WTA Tour, a tally that also includes Paris (Indoors), Dubai, Madrid and Birmingham.
For winning their latest doubles title in Cincinnati on Sunday, Black and Huber received US$100 000.
They have now made a total of US$409 938 as a team in the doubles competitions on the road this year.
In fact, Black has so far this year collected a total of US$457 031 (US$409 938 with Huber in the doubles and US$47 093 in the mixed doubles).
Black amassed the US$47 093 in the mixed doubles competitions which she played at the first three of this year’s four Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.
The 30-year-old Zimbabwean has now pocketed US$5 716 380 in career prizemoney since she turned profession on January 1, 1998.
Huber, on the other hand, has now made a total of US$503 014 (US$409 938 with Black in the doubles and US$93 076 in the mixed doubles) on the road this year.
Black and Huber are now heading to Toronto, Canada, for the US$2 million Rogers Cup, which got underway yesterday.
They are once again the top seeds at this WTA Tour Premier hardcourt tournament where they received a first-round bye.
In the second round, Black and Huber will meet the winners of the first round tie featuring the unseeded Russian pair of Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina and the Canadian wildcard duo of Stephanie Dubois and Rebecca Marino.
The winners of the doubles title at the Rogers Cup in Toronto will receive US$100 000 while the losing finalists will get US$50 000.
The Rogers Cup is the final tune-up tournament for the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year — the US Open — which is set to run from August 31 to September 13 at Flushing Meadows in New York.Black and Huber are the defending US Open women’s doubles champions.
