Harare — The superstars of women's doubles tennis in the world Cara Black and Liezel Huber disagree on the particulars of their first meeting on a tennis court.

Cara remembered clearly that Huber bedeviled her with drop shots galore.

Huber is convinced it was the other way around.

But neither woman has any difficulty remembering where the meeting took place.

It was during an entry-level professional tournament in 1992 in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, a place where Cara and her older brothers, Byron and Wayne, were raised to be unlikely tennis stars on four grass courts built by their father.

The tournament in Harare was Cara's first senior event, and she was just 13.

Huber, then 16, had driven north to Zimbabwe with her father in the family van from their native South Africa.

She and Cara agree that Huber won their early-round singles match in three tough sets.

More portentously, a connection was made, one that would eventually deepen into them becoming the world's top-ranked doubles team.

At first glance, Cara and Huber form a partnership of opposites.

Huber is 5 feet 11 inches with a sturdy build and the outspoken personality of one accustomed to taking the lead.

Cara, at 5-6, is petite for a contemporary tennis player and, while quite capable of expressing herself, she is quieter and more circumspect.

But what Cara and Huber share is a common heritage -- steeped in the big-sky landscapes and sociopolitical tensions of southern Africa.

"Our reasoning is very similar," Cara said.

"I think I have a good understanding of her because we just come from the same background. I think it helps us on the court."

Huber, who is married to an American tennis coach, became a United States citizen last year in time to play doubles with Lindsay Davenport at the Olympics.

But Cara remains deeply committed to her African roots.

She might be based in Wimbledon, a short walk from the All England Club.

She might be married to an Australian, the trainer Brett Stephens, but Cara lack has maintained her Zimbabwean citizenship and continues to visit often despite the country's challenges.

She said she senses massive change for the better now.

"I used to spend half my time on visits trying to find money and trying to exchange money, because it wasn't legal," she said.

"So all the bare necessities are really coming back and really helping make life much easier there, although there's still such a long way to go."

Cara's father, Don, who once played at Wimbledon, died of cancer in 2000, but her mother, Velia, still divides her time between London and Zimbabwe.

And Cara's brother Wayne has moved back to Harare after retiring from the circuit.

"No matter what's happened throughout the country, it's just where we're from, and it means so much to us," Cara said.

"With my husband being Australian, most people would think I would move there and get an Australian passport, but that's not me and that's not where I come from.

"It would just feel strange. I don't think I could ever represent another country."

Cara is already home -- enjoying a deserved break from the hustle and bustle of the international tennis circuit where she spends her life flying around the globe in search of greatness.

Every year at about this time, the tennis star returns to her hometown Harare, where she says she enjoys the warmth and tranquillity of the place that she has called home since her birth.

It's during such holidays that Cara gets time to try and help up-and-coming tennis stars in the hope that this country will produce another player to travel her path.

This week she was at Harare Sports Club conducting some coaching courses.

It was her second coaching course in the week.

On Monday, Cara was at Arundel High School where she had a special lesson with 13-year old Kudzai Malunga, whose parents made the highest bid for the lesson auctioned through the Harare Mayor Christmas Cheer Fund.

Cara said she had seen a lot of potential.

"There is potential in the players and the girls were very responsive and are very bright and I hope I have inspired the girls and they have learnt something," she said.

"I am working with TZ to try and get sponsorship from overseas and distribute the equipment to the right places where it is needed."

Cara had a message for the host of ambitious athletes in this country who one day dream of making it into the big time.

"Zimbabwe is full of great athletes and all rounders but people should try to focus on one sport," Cara.

She said there was no substitute for hard work.

On Thursday she spent more than three hours on the courts at Harare Sports Club -- first with the beginners, then the Under-12 players, then the Under-14s and, finally, the Under-16 players.

More than 30 players had a chance to hit the ball on the same court with the tennis ace.

Cara was humbled by their drive to try and attain greatness one day.

"There is a lot of talent here in Zimbabwe and we need to work with Tennis Zimbabwe," she said.

"I am very much encouraged by the attitude of the kids.

"I only get to come back home, at most twice each year, and this is the time I get to work with the players.

"I first held such a coaching course in November last year and then another one in July this year.

"I know that a lot of kids have won scholarships and went to Australia, US and the UK

"My aim is to help them by getting them into scholarships and keeping contacts with Tennis Zimbabwe."

As long as she can, Cara said, she will always take time to return home.

She said she had a decent year on tour although she was disappointed that she did not win any Grand Slam title.

Among the kids who got lessons from Cara at Harare Sports Club was Sean Bokosi, a 10-year-old Grade Five pupil.

"I learnt how to perfect my backhand and then the forehand by playing with Cara.

"I enjoyed the lessons very much," said Bokosi.

Brighton Mutanda, an 11-year-old from Gwinyiro Primary in Mufakose, was in high spirits after a workout with the world's number one doubles player.

Former Zimbabwe Davis Cup team non-playing captain Claudio Murape and tennis coach Shepherd Manyumbu were on hand to help Cara.

Tennis Zimbabwe administrator Cliff Nhokwara said Cara and the association had made a joint effort to host the coaching clinic.

While her partner smells the green grass of home, Huber is most likely to be resting in her Houston, Texas, where she lives with her husband, Tony, on their 11-court tennis ranch.

She acknowledges that Africa remains part of her identity.

But she has made it clear that she had turned the page, and her parents are preparing to do the same.

According to Huber, they have been granted residency in the United States, where they will move in February.

"I'm so grateful for the upbringing I had and the things I saw that other people would never be able to see, and the lifestyle my parents provided for us in South Africa," she said.

"But I'm also grateful to be here in the States and for being given this opportunity and not necessarily having to worry if I stop at a traffic light that there's danger or that somebody will break into my house."

So, too, does Cara in her native Harare which, according to world standards, remains one of the safest cities on the globe. -- Sports Reporters/New York Times.