Dubai: "Little drops of water make the mighty ocean" or so goes the saying, and the American pair of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond are out to prove exactly that as they seek to consolidate their position at the top of women's doubles.
"Every time we go on court, we want to win that match, the tournament and the title. We are hungry all the time for more titles and more grand slams. We start by keeping ourselves motivated on the practice courts and then during matches and the best is that we both love to win every time," Huber told Gulf News after making it to the doubles semi-finals at the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open.
"The motivation is to win all the time, and we start by taking it point on point basis. And I think that's probably why we've had success in our career. Eventually, it all adds up in the end," the Durban-born girl added.
Cara Black partnership
While Huber's partnership with Cara Black of Zimbabwe is part of tennis folklore, her current association with Raymond has started reaping rewards.
Huber is currently the number one in world doubles and along with Raymond stands top in the race for the BNP Paribas WTA Doubles Championships with 2,190 points after four tournaments that includes titles at the Paris Indoors and Doha Open last week.
Last year, Raymond, at 38, became the oldest woman ever to win a Grand Slam when she teamed up with Huber to claim the US Open doubles — getting past WTA Founder Billie Jean King, who had been the oldest winner till then.
Between them, Huber and Raymond have won an enviable eleven Grand Slam titles in the women's doubles, with just the French Open crown evading Huber so far.
And if there is one thing missing, it is an Olympic medal around their necks.
"The Olympic Games are definitely a huge goal for us. Either of us has pretty much won everything we could have in our careers. And if there is something missing, then it is an Olympic medal," Raymond said.
"The feeling is great between the two of us and it is nice to carry the momentum forward from Paris and Doha. It's never easy as the conditions are different at different events, and then there are time changes and the weather as well. I think we've done a very good job getting those first two wins under our belt," Raymond said.
"We want a medal, but we don't think of it right now. We need tournaments to go and the next biggest thing for us is our next match here. We don't probably think of the Olympics until probably when we get to the Olympics. And we would not think of a medal until the tournament is over," Huber added.
"We believe that if we look too far ahead, then we could lose focus on our immediate goals. So, for us, the Olympics is definitely a goal, but for now, our goal is to win our next match."
