A story that started with a text message sent just in the nick of time culminated with a Grand Slam trophy for Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Laura Siegemund on Thursday at Roland Garros.
The German-French duo downed Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski 6-4, 7-5 to clinch the mixed doubles title at the clay-court major. After defeating the two-time Wimbledon champions to lift the trophy, Roger-Vasselin and Siegemund explained just how close they had come to not lining up for their team debut in the first place.
“This was a last-minute thing,” explained Siegemund at the trophy ceremony on Court Philippe-Chatrier. “I didn’t want to play mixed here, because I was in singles and women’s doubles also. Then Edouard texted me like two hours before the deadline.
“I always wanted to play with him, and it was always somehow not working out, and then I was like, ‘I can’t say no, now he’s finally free’. So I think it was a good decision that we signed up. Thank you so much for playing with me. I enjoyed some mixed before, but this was special, I really enjoyed it.”
“Thank you Laura for accepting my last-minute [request]," said home favourite Roger-Vasselin. "Two hours before the deadline, I had no partner, and you said yes. I’m glad you said yes, and we had a great week, so thank you to you and your team as well.”
Roger-Vasselin and Siegemund broke Skupski’s serve in the opening game of the match and stayed rock-solid from then on. The only major setback they faced came when they lost a deuce deciding point, which doubled as a championship point, on the Frenchman’s serve at 4-5, 40/40. The second-seeded duo responded superbly to that disappointment, however, breaking Krawczyk’s serve in the next game before holding firm behind Siegemund’s delivery for victory.
The eventual champions were aggressive on return throughout their one-hour, 40-minute triumph. Roger-Vasselin and Siegemund converted four of 10 break points they earned, according to Infosys Stats, while they also fended off nine of the 11 break points they faced.
It was a second major title for Roger-Vasselin, the No. 11 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, who won the Roland Garros men’s doubles crown in 2014. Siegemund is now a three-time Grand Slam champion, having triumphed at the US Open in mixed doubles in 2016 and in women’s doubles in 2020.
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