CARA BLACK made a positive return to Grand Slam tennis as she and her partner, Anastasia Rodionova, defeated Australian pair Monique Adamczak and Stephanie Bengson 6-3, 6-4 in the Australian Open first round yesterday.
REPORT BY KUDA MANGOMA SPORTS REPORTER
Their first round doubles match out on court 5 lasted 1 hour 23 minutes and was played in extremely challenging 40 degree heat at Melbourne Park.
The second set was a gutsy grind. Black and Rodionova dug deep to drag themselves from being down 0-3 to 4-4 and then eventually winning 6-4.
Their next opponents will be the unseeded duo of American Irina Falconi and Shuko Aoyama of Japan.
The Australian Open is an apt tournament for Black to make her Grand Slam comeback since giving birth last April, as she has a strong connection with the country, being married to former Australian footballer Brett Stephens.
Black will also be involved in the mixed doubles tournament with her Australian partner, Paul Hanley.
In round one of the mixed doubles, Black will face her former women’s doubles partner, Liezel Huber and Max Mirnyi, in what will be a physically and emotionally-testing match.
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Black and Huber made up what many tennis experts regard as one of the greatest women’s doubles teams in history between mid-2005 and early 2010.
Black was ranked number one doubles player in the world in 2005 and has 54 career titles, including five Grand Slams doubles and five mixed doubles titles.
