Raymond and Stosur set up final showdown

LISA Raymond and Samantha Stosur toppled defending champions Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-3, 6-3 as they continued their return to form and set up a women's doubles final showdown with the Williams sisters.

The former world No1s had slipped down the rankings in recent months after Australian Stosur fell ill and missed the second half of last season. But yesterday the 16th seeds showed they are getting back to their best as they made two of the sharpest reflexes in women's tennis look sluggish.

Black and Huber, Wimbledon champions together in 2005 and 2007 and with a run of 18 consecutive wins on grass, got off to a slow start with Black broken in the first game when a Stosur forehand clipped the net and skipped over Huber's racket.

The top seeds were back on level terms at 2-2 however after 34-year-old Raymond lost her serve before Stosur clinched another vital break.

Raymond then established the first set point against the Black serve, but it took three set points before Stosur pounced to pocket the opener.

The second set followed a similar pattern as Black struggled but eventually held for 1-1. But, serving again at 2-3, she was yet again foiled by Stosur's excellent returning. The match favourites had no fewer than six chances to break back with Raymond serving at 4-3, but could not get back on an even keel. Although Huber was untroubled on serve for 3-5, Stosur was able to close the match out with ease.

Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic will face Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett in tomorrow's men's doubles final after edging out ninth seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes in an epic five-set battle that lasted three hours 16 minutes.

Nestor, the Yugoslavia-born Canadian, and Serbia's Zimonjic only formed their partnership at the end of last year but have won 20 of their 22 matches this year, including the doubles title at Queens. And their class shone through as they raised their game in the deciding fifth set to clinch a 7-6 (7-4), 4-5, 6-1, 4-6, 8-6 win.