Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - The mighty Williams sisters, Venus and
Serena, secured a berth in their fifth Wimbledon women's doubles final on
Friday.
The unseeded siblings came from behind to upend the top-seeded team of fellow
Americans Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, at the All England
Club. The 35-year-old Huber is a five-time major doubles titlist, while the
38-year-old Raymond owns six such titles. They are the reigning U.S. Open
champs.
The Williams' opponent in the final will be a sixth-seeded Czech tandem of
Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, who overcame unseeded Italians
Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Schiavone is a former
French Open singles champ.
The 25-year-old Hlavackova and 27-year-old Hradecka were last year's French
Open doubles champs.
The 32-year-old Venus and 30-year-old Serena already own 12 Grand Slam doubles
titles, including Wimbledon ones in 2000, 2002, 2008 and 2009. They haven't
paired for a major doubles title since 2010, when they captured Australian and
French Open titles.
The sisters are also two-time Olympic gold medallists in doubles and will play
for some more doubles gold here at the All England Club in a few weeks as the
tennis for the London Olympic Games will be staged on these hallowed lawns.
Serena will play for a fifth Wimbledon singles championship here on Saturday.
Saturday's winning doubles team will split $400,000.
The Sports Network