Roland-Garros: Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen create the feat and qualify for the doubles final

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The Belgian pair won their semi-final in straight sets, against Middelkoop and Mies.

Sander Gillé (ATP 40 in doubles) and Joran Vliegen (ATP 41) won in the semi-finals of the men’s doubles tournament at Roland-Garros, the second Grand Slam tournament, on Thursday on clay in Paris. Against the 12th seed of the Dutch Matwe Middelkoop (ATP 23) and the German Andreas Mies (ATP 29), the duo concluded in two sets, 6-4, 7-5, in 1h41.

This is the first time that Sander Gillé, 32, and Joran Vliegen, 29, have reached a two-man Grand Slam final. The pair’s best finish in the four major tournaments before Roland-Garros 2023 was a quarter-final at the 2020 US Open. Vliegen had already played in the mixed doubles final last year at Porte d’Auteuil, with the Norwegian Ulrikke Eikeri.

The first leg of the semi-final was hotly contested, and the Davis Cup team-mates for Belgium had to defend four break points. They held on, however, and managed to get one of four break points in their favor to take the first set, 6-4.

The second started ideally for Gillé and Vliegen, who took the opposing serve at the first opportunity. Middelkoop and Mies replied soon after, however, and restored the tie at 3-3. Both pairs remained imperial on their serve then, until the 12th seed collapsed when it came to forcing the tie-break, conceding a shutout, 7-5.

In the final, Gillé and Vliegen will meet the 10th seeded pair, Croatian Ivan Dodig (ATP 8 in doubles) and American Austin Krajicek (ATP 5 in doubles). Victory would make the duo the second Belgian-Belgian pair to lift the trophy in men’s doubles, after Xavier Malisse and Olivier Rochus in 2004.





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