WASHINGTON, October 11, 2020 (by Michael Dickens)
Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, both from Germany, successfully defended their French Open men’s doubles title on Saturday. In a battle between the reigning Roland Garros champions and Mate Pavic of Croatia and Bruno Soares of Brazil, winners of last month’s US Open, it was the German duo who prevailed 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 29 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
With little margin for error, the eighth-seeded Krawietz and Mies took advantage of a couple of service breaks – one in each set and both while Soares was serving – which proved the difference in beating the seventh seeds. The Germans served four aces, won 83 percent of their first serves, saved all five break points they faced, and outpointed Pavic and Soares 75-58.
🏆 Doubling Up 🏆
Defending champions @AndreasMies and @KrawietzKevin win back to back #RolandGarros men’s doubles titles conquering Pavic/Soares 6-3 7-5. pic.twitter.com/BRzVOWWJuK
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 10, 2020
“It is hard to describe what is going through our heads right now. It is unbelievable,” Mies said. “I think this achievement is even bigger than winning last year. To win a Grand Slam title is always big, but to defend it is even more difficult. It is incredible that we did and we are unbelievably happy right now. We cannot believe it.”
🏆🏆@AndreasMies & @KrawietzKevin#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/kolRaqpPih
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 10, 2020
The German pair dropped just one set during the fortnight. They won three consecutive matches against seeds beginning from the quarterfinal stage. First, they defeated No. 13 seeds Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski, then No. 9 seeds Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic to reach the final.
Krawietz and Mies, who improved their French Open win-loss record to 12-0 following Saturday’s title victory, are only the fourth team in the Open Era to win back-to-back Roland Garros titles and first since Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi in 2011-12. They earned 2,000 ATP Doubles Rankings points and split 319,652 euros in prize money. Pavic and Soares received 1,200 points and shared 188,030 euros.
“Enjoy the party tonight”
Sounds like fun…@KrawietzKevin #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/EG211Xfce4
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 10, 2020
“To be a part of the history is always a bonus point,” Krawietz said. “Of course, we like to hear that we wrote history today. … We are super proud of it. No losses here at Roland Garro is crazy.”
“How many beers he had?”
It’s real, @AndreasMies!#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/oarhOYpu8G
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 10, 2020
