Rare French wins at Roland Garros

PARIS — The French pair of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic has secured a rare triumph for the home nation at the French Open, winning the women’s doubles to give spectators on Court Philippe Chatrier a victory Sunday. The fifth-seeded pair beat Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, the No. 7 seeds from Russia, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. The last French victors in women’s doubles in the clay-court major at Roland Garros were Gail Chanfreau and Francoise Durr, who won in 1970 and then defended their title the following year. On a good day for the French at Roland Garros, Geoffrey Blancaneaux won the junior title in boys’ singles after saving three match points. Blancaneaux defeated 11th-seeded Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada 1-6, 6-3, 8-6. Other French women have won with non-French partners since then. Mary Pierce lifted the trophy with Swiss player Martina Hingis in 2000 and Gail Lovera teamed with Fiorella Bonicelli from Uruguay to win in 1976. France hasn’t had much to cheer about of late in other competitions at Roland Garros, either. Nathalie Duchy was the last French winner in mixed doubles, paired with Andy Ram from Israel in 2007. The last full-French victorious mixed doubles pairing was Tatiana Golovin and Richard Gasquet in 2004. Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin did win the men’s doubles in 2014, but they were the first French champions since Yannick Noah and Henri Leconte in 1984. Noah was the last French man to win the single’s title, in 1983. Pierce was France’s last women’s singles champion, in 2000. Mladenovic also won the junior title in girls’ singles in 2009. Lopez and Lopez break Grand slam duck in Paris Marc Lopez and Feliciano Lopez made Saturday in Paris a day to remember for Spain as they beat American twins Bob and Mike Bryan, the most successful doubles pairing in Grand Slam history, to win the French Open crown. Hours after compatriot Garbine Muguruza notched up her maiden slam title on the same Philippe Chatrier showcourt with a straight sets defeat of holder Serena Williams, Lopez and Lopez took their first major too, going the full distance in winning 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3. While the Bryan brothers were seeking their 17th grand slam title having won their first — also in Paris — in 2003, the Spaniards teamed up at the start of 2016 for the Australian Open. The Americans also won at Roland Garros in 2013. “We won the match against the best in the world. You can’t expect anything better than that,” said Feliciano, who as a singles player enjoyed moderate success at the slams having reached the quarterfinals at both Wimbledon and US Open. “There is no doubt that this is one of the most beautiful wins in my career. For the past 18 months I have been playing the doubles, and at that time I didn’t think that I would be in a position to win a grand slam so quickly. “It’s quite unexpected. It’s a great reward.” — Agencies