Harrison, Venus lift first Grand Slam men's doubles at French Open
Published : 11 Jun 2017, 07:08
Updated : 11 Jun 2017, 11:51
Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus won their first Grand Slam title with a three-set victory in men's doubles final at the 2017 French Open here on Saturday.
The United States-New Zealand duo won 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3 against Santiago Gonzalez and Donald Young in two hours and 14 minutes.
"You always dream of winning a Grand Slam every time you're playing as a kid. You idolize people who win Grand Slams. You picture yourself in those moments. It feels a little surreal," said Harrison, adding that Venus felt like a brother to him.
"He's been a part of my family. He was like a brother growing up. He taught me how to drive and how to do a lot of things," he recalled.
The champion duo finished five aces and five winners, both bettering their opponents by two.
Harrison, who also played in the singles event, hoped that he could benefit a lot from the doubles Grand Slam title.
"I'm hoping this can lead into singles success as well, and I know my confidence will be very high coming off this," he commented.
Earlier on Saturday, Latvian underdog Jelena Ostapenko won her maiden Grand Slam trophy with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over the third-seeded Simona Halep in women's singles final.
Champions for junior events and wheelchair events were also decided on Saturday.
In the last game day on Sunday, nine-time champion Rafael Nadal will fight for his 10th success at Roland Garros against the 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka in the men's singles final.
The women's doubles final will feature top seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, against Australian duo of Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua.