Former Florida Great Raymond Wins US Open Women's Doubles Title
UCLA Alum Matkowski Falls in Final of Men’s Doubles
FLUSHING, N.Y. - Lisa Raymond, 38, teamed with fellow American Liezel Huber to win her third US Open women's doubles title with a third different partner, defeating defending champions Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) in Sunday's final.
Raymond and Huber trailed 6-4, 5-3 before rallying behind Raymond's reliable volleys and Huber's well-placed lobs.
More than 18 years after her final collegiate match at the University of Florida, Raymond surpassed Billie Jean King as the oldest player to ever win a Grand Slam women's doubles title. King was 36 when she and Martina Navratilova won the 1980 US Open.
"To even be in the same breath as Billie Jean King is amazing," Raymond told ESPN2's Darren Cahill following the final. "It’s been a crazy, up-and-down year. The last few months playing with Liezel have been amazing. To finish the summer like this, and come back the way we did, I don’t even know what to say."
Raymond's previous two US Open women's doubles championships came with Australian partners. She won in 2001 with Rennae Stubbs and in 2005 with Samantha Stosur, the 2011 US Open singles champion.
In the men's doubles final – played after midnight early Sunday morning – Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner played like it was past their bed time. They defeated the Polish pair of UCLA alum Marcin Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg 6-2, 6-2 in 48 minutes.
Thus ends an impressive US Open for past, present and future collegiate tennis players – 47 of whom competed in the main draw. Here's a look at the Top 11 for '11 performances:
1.) Lisa Raymond (Florida '93): Playing the US Open for the 23rd consecutive season, Raymond was two points from defeat in the women's doubles final alongside Liezel Huber, before rallying for an improbable Grand Slam title – Raymond's first in women's doubles since the 2006 French Open.
2.) Marcin Matkowski (UCLA '03): Arriving in New York with a 9-19 record on the year, Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg of Poland reached the men's doubles final by beating 2010 US Open finalists Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.
3.) John Isner (Georgia '07): After two days of rain and three days away from the court, Isner won three tiebreakers to defeat No. 12 seed Gilles Simon of France and reach the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career.
4.) Irina Falconi (Georgia Tech '10): Falconi picked up her first four wins ever in the main draw of a Grand Slam – two in singles and two in mixed doubles. Her running drop shot winner on match point against No. 14 seed Dominika Cibulkova on Arthur Ashe Stadium won't soon be forgotten.
5.) Kevin Anderson (Illinois '07): Though he fell to No. 8 seed Mardy Fish in the third round of men's singles, the 6-foot-8 Anderson enjoyed two of the most dominant wins of the tournament in the first and second round, conceding just one break point combined.
6.) Nicole Gibbs (Stanford sophomore): The 2011 ITA All-American played 12 matches at the US Open, starting in the women's singles qualifying on August 24th and finishing in the semifinals of the junior singles and doubles events on September 10th.
7.) Frank Moser (VCU '01): The German journeyman, who turns 35 on September 23rd, enjoyed one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, teaming with 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic to defeat No. 1 seeds and defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan in the first round of men's doubles.
8.) Robert Farah (USC '10): The 2010 Campbell/ITA Player of the Year qualified for the first time at a Grand Slam event in singles. Though he let a two-set lead slip away against Nicolas Mahut in the first round, Farah rebounded to win his men’s doubles opener with Juan Sebastian Cabal.
9.) Steve Johnson (USC senior): Like his Trojans' teammate Farah, Johnson could not capitalize on a two-set advantage in singles. He, too, bounced back, teaming with Falconi to upset Australian Open champions Daniel Nestor and Katarina Srebotnik and reach the mixed doubles quarterfinals.
10.) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia '08) and Treat Conrad Huey (Virginia '08): Reunited after finishing 2008 at No. 2 in the Campbell/ITA rankings, Devvarman and Huey defeated No. 14 seeds Juan Ignacio Chela and Eduardo Schwank to reach the third round in men's doubles.
11.) Hilary Barte (Stanford '11) and Mallory Burdette (Stanford junior): The 2011 ITA All-Stars and NCAA Division I doubles champions defeated fellow Americans Alexa Glatch and Jamie Hampton 6-4, 6-4 before falling in a three-set, second-round women's doubles match.
2011 US Open
Sunday, September 11
Women's Doubles - Final
[4] Lisa Raymond (Florida '93) & Liezel Huber def. [3] Vania King & Yaroslava Shvedova 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3)
Men’s Doubles – Final
[9] Jurgen Melzer & Philipp Petzschner def. [6] Marcin Matkowski (UCLA '03) & Mariusz Fyrstenberg 6-2, 6-2
Other 2011 US Open Stories
September 9: Matkowski, Raymond Reach US Open Doubles Finals
September 8: Isner Wins Three Tiebreaks to Reach First Grand Slam QF
September 5: Bhupathi, Matkowski Set Up Quarterfinal Clash
September 4: Isner Brushes Off Break Points to Beat Bogomolov
September 3: ITA All-Stars Johnson and Falconi Reach Mixed Doubles QF
September 2: Red-Hot Isner Wins All-American Affair Against Ginepri
September 1: Unbreakable Anderson Advances to Third Round
August 31: Dream Comes True for Former ITA No. 1 Falconi
August 30: Resurgent Blake Continues Comeback at US Open
August 29: Fast-Rising Falconi Earns First Grand Slam Victory
August 26: USC's Farah and Johnson Reunited in US Open Main Draw
August 25: 2010 NCAA Champion Klahn One Win From Main Draw
August 24: ITA Alums Yani, Ram, Ouellette Advance at US Open
August 23: Tennessee's Williams, Virginia's Frank Earn Upset Wins
