Former Tennis Great Lisa Raymond Marches into U.S. Open Doubles Final
Friday, September 5, 2008 | Women's Tennis
Former University of Florida women's tennis star Lisa Raymond will have a chance to capture her sixth professional women's doubles Grand Slam championship after winning her semifinal match.
Samantha Stosur and Raymond's comeback continued Thursday at the US Open, as the No. 10-seeded doubles pair advanced to the final of the women's doubles competition, with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama.
The 2005 US Open champions and former No. 1 team in the world have only played a limited schedule this year, which included a runner-up finish in the Wimbledon final, where they lost to the Williams sisters, 6-2, 6-2.
One year ago, Stosur left the US Open and headed home to Australia, where she checked into the emergency room the following day complaining of severe headaches. The first diagnosis was viral meningitis, but after a month of not feeling better and more tests, Stosur was told she was suffering from Lyme Disease.
Stosur went from one of the fittest players on tour to being winded walking through her house at the young age of 24. She went through six weeks of antibiotic treatments, administering her own IV, and slowly got better, finally making her comeback in the spring.
Raymond and Stosur lost in the third round of the French Open and then had their great Wimbledon finals run, where Stosur also teamed with Bob Bryan to win the mixed doubles title.
Stosur played at the Olympics with Rennae Stubbs and lost in the second round to the Spanish pair, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual.
Stosur and Raymond, who have not dropped a set in their five matches, may just meet the pair from Spain again in the Open final Saturday. The fifth-seeded team of Medina Garrigues and Ruano Pascual play top-seeded Cara Black and Liezel Huber Friday in the other doubles semifinal.
“It feels great to be in the final at the Open,” said Raymond, 35, who grew up in Norristown, Pa. “It's close to home, so that's nice. It's up there with Wimbledon, as far as my favorite tournaments.”
Raymond has won a total of five professional women's doubles Grand Slam championships, including the 2001 and 2005 U.S. Open titles. She collected the women's doubles career Grand Slam after winning the 2006 French Open with Stosur. Raymond also has four Mixed Doubles Grand Slam championships to her credit.
Raymond spent the majority of the 2001 and 2002 seasons as the No. 1-ranked doubles player in the world and entered 2007 as the co-No. 1 ranked player.
The former Gator standout won the 1992 and 1993 NCAA Singles Championships while guiding Florida to the 1992 NCAA Team title. Raymond compiled an 84-4 singles record during her two-year tenure in Gainesville, amassing a winning percentage of 95.4 which still remains the career program standard.
Story by Steve Pratt on www.USOpen.org
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