PARIS, France – Kristina Mladenovic had already clinched her spot as the new WTA Doubles World No.1, and further cemented the career achievement with a third Grand Slam women’s doubles title, pairing fellow No.2 seed Timea Babos to defeat Chinese team Duan Ying-Ying and Zheng Saisai, 6-2, 6-3 to win the French Open.
“Every single one is very special and memorable and lots of emotions,” Mladenovic said after the match. “But I think this one comes on top, I would say, somehow for me, because it’s very special.”
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Mladenovic, who now has a grand total of five major titles (including two in mixed), won her second title on the terre battue and first with Babos after one hour and 10 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier. For Babos, it’s her second major title, having first won the 2018 Australian Open (also with Mladenovic).
“This is what we are working hard for,” Babos added. “As you guys know, we are not necessarily like doubles specialists, but it somehow turns out to be that we are really good at it, and we really complement each other well.
“I’m very, very happy that I could feel also this special moment how it is to play in Kiki’s home.”
It was that gap in experience that surely helped the reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champions as they saved three break points in the third game of the match, riding that momentum to two breaks of their own to capture the opening set.
“Our games are quite complementary on the court with the years and experience,” Mladenovic said. “We know the weakness of each other in the game, and also through our great successes and victories and defeats, we have learned how to manage things, how to protect ourselves, how to use our strong points. This is what makes the difference for great events.”
The Chinese duo snapped the streak of six games against them to break Mladenovic in the second set, but couldn’t hold on as the No.2 seeds took a 4-1 lead.
Serving for the title, Babos’ famously big delivery took her and Mladenovic over the finish line on their second match point.
