Sisters’ double delight for Williams

Serena and Venus Williams gave another awe-inspiring demonstration of their stranglehold on women’s tennis by defeating the world’s top-ranked doubles pair to win the Australian Open doubles on Friday. The sisters, who only play doubles for fun, used their superior power and strength to beat Virgina Ruano Pascual of Spain and Argentina’s Paola Suarez 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

“They’re probably the best team and they really, really wanted to win this title,” Serena said. “That makes you really want to fight harder and just go outt here and play even better than normal.” Venus added: “We know they’re very good at doubles and have a lot of experience so we just have to use everything we have, our experience of being in tight situations and winning, and of course our serves.”

The Williamses, who play each other in Saturday’s singles final, have an imposing record in doubles despite their reluctance to practice and play regularly. They have now won six Grand Slam titles, two at Melbourne and Wimbledon and one each at the French and US Open, and also struck gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Pascual and Suarez are doubles specialists, finishing last year ranked number one and two in the world after winning seven titles including the French and US Open championships, but they still had no answer to the Williamses. (Reuters)