Doubles delight in Paris for cross-Strait duo

Wang Xinyu boosted her fledgling career with a Grand Slam triumph on Sunday that caps a hugely encouraging clay-court season for Chinese players.

Although playing in just their second tournament together following a "snap decision" to team up, the cross-Strait duo of the Chinese mainland's Wang and Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei proved a winning combination in the French Open women's doubles competition.

After battling past a string of higher-ranked duos, Wang and Hsieh again dug deep in Sunday's final to defeat 10th-seeded pair Taylor Townsend of the United States and Leylah Fernandez of Canada, 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-1, to lift the Simonne-Mathieu Cup at Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Wang, a 21-year-old native of Guangdong province, became the fifth Chinese mainland player to win a doubles trophy on the Grand Slam stage, while Hsieh bagged her fifth major doubles title and her second at Roland Garros nine years after her first triumph in 2014.

Last week in the singles draw, Wang also achieved a career-best result at a Grand Slam by reaching the third round in Paris, where she lost to world No 1 and eventual tournament champion Iga Swiatek of Poland in straight sets.

Reflecting on their unexpected run to glory, the pair attributed the success to their easygoing approach and complementary playing styles, which they first tested at a warm-up tournament in Strasbourg, France last month.

"It's nice to have her on your side, definitely better than playing against her," Wang said of Hsieh.

"I think our games fit together. I like playing with her, because her personality is so chilled out and fun.

"We didn't think too much about winning or losing, we were just enjoying each other's company on court … so happy that we made it."

After only recently returning to tennis following an 18-month injury hiatus, the 37-year-old Hsieh said that she was glad to have the energetic Wang chasing down every point.

"It's important to find a young girl (as a playing partner) so you feel fresh and young again!" said Hsieh, who made her 60th Grand Slam doubles main-draw appearance in Paris. "Thank you (to Xinyu) for running after every point … and having my back. It was wonderful to have that support."

With both players usually focused on singles play, Wang and Hsieh decided to team up after only discussing the prospect for a few minutes right before the entry deadline.

The combination of Hsieh's finesse and sharpness at the net and Wang's slamming groundstrokes from the backcourt proved unbeatable in Paris, accounting for four seeded duos from the second round on.

Now Wang hopes to carry the winning momentum into her singles game.

"Sometimes in doubles, you get faster balls back because they always come in on your return," said Wang, who is currently ranked 64th in the singles and 26th in doubles.

"In singles maybe they will wait. They will put the return in first with slower spins, whereas in the doubles the ball is returned really fast to my second serve.

"It helps you to get used to the pace and makes you feel like the singles game is slower."

Having become more comfortable on clay recently, Wang has set her sights on pushing for more breakthroughs in the upcoming grass-court swing of the season.

"It just helped reassure me that I am heading in the right direction and that I should stick to playing my own game and my own style," she said.

China's men also had plenty to cheer about at Roland Garros, with three of the country's male players in the main draw for the first time.

Among them, Zhang Zhizhen reached the third round, becoming the first male Chinese mainland player to do so in Paris in the Open era. That heroic run saw Zhang climb to a career-high ranking of No 56 this week.

Last month on the clay courts of Madrid, Zhang made the quarterfinals of an ATP Masters tournament for the first time to highlight the much-improved performances of Chinese players on their least-favorite surface.

With new talent coming through the ranks of the traditionally strong women's contingent and the men catching up fast, Chinese tennis appears to be ushering in a bright new era that promises more Grand Slam breakthroughs.

"I think the best is yet to come," Zhang said of the surge.