Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US, right, and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic, left, kiss the trophy after winning the women’s doubles final of the French Open tennis tournament in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, against Casey Dellacqua of Australia and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Sunday, June 7, 2015. AP PHOTO/THIBAULT CAMUS
PARIS—With a little help from a friend, Lucie Safarova finally got her hands on a trophy at the French Open.
A day after losing to Serena Williams in the championship match at Roland Garros, the lefthander from the Czech Republic teamed up with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands to clinch the doubles title with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win against Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova on Sunday.
Safarova put her disappointment aside and played a decisive role in the third game of the deciding set, when she fired two aces on break points. Mattek-Sands and Safarova did not lose a single game after that.
“I was a little bit sad, but it was exciting for me to be here in the final,” Safarova said. “I was very pumped to at least get one title out of those two. I’m really happy it happened.”
After Safarova served out the match, the winning pair fell into each other’s arms and jumped up and down to celebrate their second Grand Slam triumph after winning the Australian Open.
A delighted Mattek-Sands kissed Safarova several times on the cheek before they warmly congratulated their opponents at the net.
Both Safarova and Mattek-Sands, who only began playing together this year, said one of the reasons the chemistry between them developed so quickly is their excellent relationship off the court.
“It makes a big difference,” Mattek-Sands said. “I’m really grateful I have a great friend like Lucie to hang out with and talk with. As much as we joke around, we can be serious. It’s really nice to have a friend like that.”
Safarova and Mattek-Sands became only the seventh women’s pair in the Open era to win both the Australian Open and Roland Garros the same year. And for the 30-year-old Mattek-Sands, it was a second trophy in Paris this week after she claimed the mixed doubles title with Mike Bryan.
“I don’t think either of us had a day off this whole French Open,” she said. “The two days we might not have played matches we still warmed up or practiced. It’s been a whirlwind. Really, to win it with Mike and then win it with Lucie after the Australian Open, it’s been so much fun. We have had a lot of fun in the locker room.”—Samuel Petrequin with Jerome Pugmire in Paris