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The weekend didn’t just bring former world No.1 doubles player Cara Black of Zimbabwe the ASB Classic tennis doubles title in her first WTA tournament since becoming a mom last April, it also brought back the feeling of being right in the thick of things on the tour, from the players lounge to the tennis court.
So how did the 33-year-old Zimbabwean feel about it all?
“It feels great to be back out on the tour again,” Black said. “It was great to be back on the court with Rodi (Anastasia Rodionova of Australia) again. We had a fun week last week in Auckland and are thrilled to have won the title.
“Auckland has always been one of my favourite stops on the tour, so it was really nice to be back there again. And the final was an exciting match, playing against two great professionals of the game, Slava and Julia (Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan and Germany’s Julia Goerges).
“There were some awesome points and we were lucky to come out on top in that super tie-break.”
Wildcards Black and Rodionova upset top seeds Shvedova and Goerges 2-6, 6-2, 10-5 in the ASB Tennis Classic doubles final in Auckland on Saturday.
They will share US$11 500 for winning the doubles title at this year’s ASB Tennis Classic.
To reach the doubles final of the 2013 ASB Tennis Classic, Black and Rodionova first beat Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia and Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 6-2, 6-3 to move into the quarter-finals of the US$235 000 hardcourt tournament.
In the last eight, Black and Rodionova met the pair Marina Erakovic of New Zealand and Briton Heather Watson and were stretched to three sets before emerging triumphant with a hard-earned 6-2, 4-6, 10-5 victory to reach the semi-finals.
In the semis, Black and Rodionova met Liga Dekmeijere of Latvia and American Megan Moulton-Levy and they brewed a shocker by beating their third-seeded opponents 6-4, 6-4 to reach Saturday’s final.
And Saturday saw Black and Rodionova burying themselves in glory after beating top seeds Goerges and Shvedova 2-6, 6-2, 10-5 to lift the doubles title at this year’s season-opening ASB Tennis Classic in Auckland. It wasn’t just Black’s first WTA event as a mother, it was also the first WTA event she played with her eight-month-old son, Lachlan Alexander Stephens, cheering her on from her camp.
“It was great to see all the girls again. They were all so wonderful with Lachie — I hardly saw him all week! After being away for so long, I realised how much I missed everyone, and tennis too.
It’s amazing to be back, to have another chance to compete again with a whole new perspective. It’s such a bonus.
“I’m looking forward to the Australian Open coming up and am so lucky to have my family by my side.”
Black has had a large amount of success in Auckland in her career, winning the doubles title three times in 2000 (with Alexandra Fusai), 2010 (with Liezel Huber) and now 2013 (with Anastasia Rodionova).
Additionally, she made one of her two career singles finals at the event, finishing runner-up back in 2000 (losing to Anne Kremer in the final).
In fact, Black has now won one WTA Tour singles title and 55 women’s doubles titles.
She has also won a total of 10 Grand Slam titles in women’s doubles and mixed doubles combined.
And watch out for Black at the Australian Open too – she has won the women’s doubles there once in 2007 (with Huber) and the mixed once in 2010 (with Leander Paes).
The Australian Open — the first Grand Slam of the year – is set to run from January 14 to 27 in Melbourne.
WTA.com
Online Reporter