adminCollin Matiza Sports Editor
IT rained for the first time at Wimbledon yesterday and the rains came as a bad omen for Zimbabwean women’s tennis star Cara Black and her American partner Lisa Raymond who were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the All England Club.
According to reports from London, “old war-horses” Black (36) and Raymond (42) failed in their bid to become among the oldest players to win the women’s doubles title at Wimbledon after they went down to the Russian pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina who beat them 6-3, 4-6 8-6 in their last eight tie which was interrupted by rain twice.
But Black and Raymond, who were unseeded at the third Grand Slam of the year, must have left Court No.2 at the All England Club kicking themselves after they blew up a 5-1 lead in the third and final set to surrender the tie to their second-seeded Russian opponents in an epic encounter which lasted a total of two hours 14 minutes.
It initially looked like Makarova and Vesnina were out for a routine victory when they took the first 6-3 in 33 minutes.
But WTA Tour veterans Black and Raymond refused to be intimidated as they came out fighting in the second set which was, however, first interrupted by rain for almost an hour when they were leading 1-0.
Online Reporter