HANTUCHOVA & STOSUR UPSET NO.3 SEEDS
Two of the WTA's most talented veterans took out the No.3 seeds - WTA Rising Stars Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic - as the doubles competition continued to heat up at the French Open.
Published May 30, 2015 12:12

PARIS, France - The second round of French Open doubles action wrapped up on Saturday with all seeded teams advancing, barring one upset as the No.3-seeded team of Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic saw their 10-match winning streak end.

Daniela Hantuchova and Samantha Stosur dealt an upset to the all-WTA Rising Star team of Babos and Mladenovic, winning 7-5, 6-3. The veteran players joined forces earlier in the clay season and had only played in one tournament together before entering the French Open.

"We played really well and against a team that's been playing really well this year," Stosur said.

Babos and Mladenovic had won titles in Dubai, Marrakech and Rome, and sit in the No.3 spot on the Road To Singapore doubles leaderboard.

"I knew we had to go out there and be aggressive and we were able to do that and come up with a few lucky points," the Australian added. "Before we knew it we were serving for the match.

"This is only the second tournament we have played together and I think we are getting better and better as the matches go on so that's a good feeling."

They will face the No.13 seeds Michaella Krajicek and Barbora Strycova in the third round.

Daniela & Sam lost 6-4 3-6 6-2. It really feels like a missed opportunity especially after playing so well in the previous round. I didn't see the match but the difference was second serve, where Krajicek & Strycova won 59% but Daniela & Sam won only 34%, and Strycova & Krajicek were 6/12 on Bps compared to Daniela & Sam's 4/12. If they'd done a better job on second serve, they'd have won. This is such a pity as it was a really good chance to go on a run deep into the tournament but it wasn't to be. Still, Daniela had her best doubles win in years against Mladenovic and Babos and if she stays with Sam they can do really well at Wimbledon.

Daniela and Sam had a shot. I misjudged the time and awoke early in the final set. Down 1-2 on serve, they played a marathon game where each team had the ad several times, resulting in a break. Then they couldn't cash in a break point in the next game, making it 1-4, and their opponents cruised home from there. Too bad. I'd want to get excited about the future of this team, but since recent history tells us that Daniela's doubles teams last as long as an ice cube in a running microwave, I gotta reserve judgment. But also thank them for some excitement this week.

So pleased for Safarova - she's my 2nd favourite on tour - let's hope she can destroy Williams in the final

Isn't it nice that Ivanovic & Bastian Schweinsteiger can have a nice weekend in Paris instead of having to play on Saturday after they both lost their semis. Lucie Safarova's the Lionel Messi of tennis.