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Williams sisters through to doubles final Posted: Saturday July 06, 2002 2:40 PMUpdated: Saturday July 06, 2002 2:49 PM WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Serena and Venus Williams advanced to the Wimbledon doubles final on Saturday, beating Anna Kournikova and Chanda Rubin 6-7 (3), 6-0, 6-3. They will face French Open champions Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain and Paola Suarez of Argentina in Sunday's final in a bid to regain the title they won in 2000. Returning to Centre Court soon after competing in the singles final won by Serena, the singles champion started the match with three consecutive aces. The sisters took a 3-1 lead when Kournikova double-faulted on break point, but Serena then dropped her serve when Venus netted a volley. Kournikova, who drew the biggest cheers from the crowd, made a major contribution in the tiebreaker by executing three brilliantly angled volleys. But as the Royal Box gradually refilled again following afternoon tea, the Williams sisters dominated the second set. Rubin was broken in the first game and although Venus struggled on her serve, holding off two break points in the second game and another two as she served out for the set, she leveled the match with an ace. The sisters walked to the wrong end of the court when they came out for the final set, and then had to work hard to gain the advantage. The breakthrough came when Kournikova hit her fourth double-fault to give the Americans a 4-3 lead, and they closed out the match by winning the last 14 points. During the match, the Williams sisters complained to the chair
umpire about excessive talking by Kournikova and Rubin during
points. But all four shook hands at the end of the match and
appeared to be on good terms.
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