Doubles take for sister act
Serena and Venus Williams underlined just how much they are likely to dominate the game for the foreseeable future by winning back the Wimbledon women's doubles title without really playing at their best. The sisters had relinquished their title without hitting a ball in the quarter-finals last year because the weather had caused such a backlog of matches, but now, with a few blips and hiccups, but also with some giggles, they made amends with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over the Spanish-Argentinian combination of Virginia Ruano Pascal and Paola Suarez.
The match contained a winning shot off the leading edge of the racket by Serena which the umpire ruled illegal because it had been over the net, two volleys by the new Wimbledon champion in which she threatened to eliminate Suarez with one blow, and one hilarious look that might have killed when Serena's serve was caned down the tramlines by the Argentinian.
There was no sign of the shoulder problem which had been proposed as the reason for Venus serving more slowly than usual during Saturday's singles final, but the sisters did have a spot of trouble in the second set when the gentler, subtler skills of their opponents set up a 4-2 lead. But in the end, with Serena seeming as motivated as ever, the sisters were just too forceful.
"Maybe I was a bit too tight - Venus told me just to calm down," Serena admitted afterwards. The bad news for future opponents is that, according to Venus, they both "want to keep this up and improve". The short-term outlook may be less intimidating, though, because she plans to celebrate by "eating candy and getting off the practice court to relax, relax, relax".
Todd Woodbridge, who was half of the most successful doubles pair of all time when he and Mark Woodforde won 61 titles together, returned here with a new partner to win back the men's doubles title. The 30-year-old Australian and Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman followed up their Saturday removal of the top-seeded titleholders, Don Johnson and Jared Palmer, by overcoming the No2 seeds Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor 6-1, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 yesterday.
"We had lost some finals this year and I said at the time that maybe we were meant to win here," said Woodbridge, whose performance in the first two sets was outstanding and whose success takes him to within five of Tom Okker's record of 78 doubles titles. Woodforde was in a broadcasting box, providing television commentary.
The final was notable for a dangerous comeback by Knowles and Nestor, with the former providing some lively monologue. Near the end of the second set, he frightened a line judge by bellowing at her after she had foot-faulted him. "Look at the scoreboard - I need help," he said.
But he made his own. It had been impossible for Woodbridge and Bjorkman to continue to play at such a high standard and when it dipped, the Bahamian Knowles and the Canadian Nestor served with more conviction and intercepted well.
The crucial moment came when Knowles had a spat with the umpire on the penultimate point, yelling "Do you know how long is a foot?" when Woodbridge's drive was called on the line when he thought it was out.
That put him match point down at 30-40 and on the next rally Bjorkman won it with a delightful rolled dink.
"I really felt I could win some more, but you never know," said Woodbridge. "It's completely different [with Bjorkman]. I have another partner here who hasn't won it before, and I presume it's a huge thrill for him.
"You know when I look back it seems amazing how many times Mark and I did it. And I appreciate those more [now] than when I actually did them. So to win it again, I have an understanding of how difficult it is. It's really a pleasing sort of experience for me. It's just great."
The day before, Daniela Hantuchova maintained her impressive progress by reaching the mixed doubles final for the second successive year. The 19-year-old Slovakian won it last year with the Czech Leos Friedl, and now, with her new partner, the Zimbabwean Kevin Ullyett, she won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 against the South African Robbie Koenig and the Belgian El Callens. But they had to wait to see who would meet them in the final.
The Indian-Russian partnership of Mahesh Bhupathi and Elena Likhovtseva had to play their semi-final in the afternoon against Don Johnson and Kimberley Po-Messerli before coming through to play the final in the lowering gloom, making their 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 victory all the more remarkable.