They weren't fully expected in the women's doubles final but they are there.
And now they bear the responsibility of winning French tennis at Roland Garros - with 16-year-old Grenoblois Gabriel Debru qualifying for the junior singles final on Saturday.
Caroline Garcia, 28, and Kristina Mladenovic, 29, who reformed their pair at the start of the year, made it to the final of the Roland-Garros doubles tournament on Friday where they will face Americans Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff on Sunday, also singles tournament finalist.
The double Garcia / Mladenovic back in the final of the double Ladies!
For the first time since 2016. The title year.
🏆🇬🇧#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/gAdmc5QlpL
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2022
Les Bleues overthrew the pair made up of Latvian Jelena Ostapenko associated with Ukrainian Lyudmyla Kichenok, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 after more than two hours of interruption due to rain.
“We haven't had a lot of playing time in doubles, whether together or separately, for a long time, that was the big challenge,” explained Kristina Mladenovic about their entry into the tournament.
What was positive was immediately our communication, the cohesion.
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They return to the final of the Parisian Grand Slam for the first time since 2016, the year of their title.
“It's really a pair that was super strong for 15 days, observes Caroline Garcia about their opponents in the final.
Pegula made quarter in singles, Coco is in the final (Saturday).
They are quite confident, they play well.
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The two French players, who had not played doubles together on the WTA circuit since 2017, reconstituted their victorious pair of the 2019 Fed Cup at the start of the year.
Without Caroline Garcia, Kristina Mladenovic won four Grand Slam doubles titles, including two at Roland-Garros (2019 and 2020), when she teamed up with Hungarian Timea Babos.
