PARIS -- Hsieh Su-Wei and Wang Xinyu, in only their second tournament together, carved a successful path at the French Open, eliminating five seeded teams on their way to their first title. This surprising victory was all the more remarkable considering their last-minute formation.
Hsieh, Wang best Townsend, Fernandez to win Roland Garros doubles title
"It's very special because I was not expecting to play [Roland Garros] and didn't know who I play with," Hsieh said. "Because at this time on the clay court season, it's the middle of the year. It's hard to find a partner."
Hsieh reached out to Zheng Saisai, who linked her with 21-year-old Wang Xinyu. The powerful right-hander wasn't exactly comfortable on clay, but they gave it a shot. A former doubles No.1 who already had four Grand Slam titles under her belt, Hsieh kept the strategy simple for her rookie partner, who was playing her first French Open doubles tournament.
🏆 CHAMPIONS 🏆
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 11, 2023
Hsieh Su-Wei and Wang Xinyu claim the 2023 Women's Doubles title. The win marks Hsieh's 5th career Grand Slam doubles crown. #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/i4baP7ARdk
"From the very beginning, Su-Wei has been telling me just to go aggressive and just to, like, 'Slap the ball,'" Wang said. "Then she's like, I will [poach], if not this one, then next one, I will go. You just keep being aggressive.
"For me, I start to see, like, when we go baseline and all the good players, they cannot really hold with me. That for me, it's really great for the confidence."
Hsieh and Wang spoke to WTA Insider after their win to talk tactics, broken strings and their future plans:
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WTA Insider: Wang Xinyu, what was it like playing alongside Hsieh Su-Wei?
Wang: Obviously it's better than playing against her (laughs). It's nice to have her on your side. It's just easy, because I think our games fit together. Also, playing with her, because her personality is so relaxed and having fun, I think I had a great two weeks with her.
Hsieh: It was really fun to play with her. She helps a lot at the baseline and I do my job. Sometimes we switch stuff to make the opponents confused. I don't know if they got confused or not.
Wang: We got confused (laughs).
Hsieh: If we don't do good we laugh and we just keep playing. For me it was no big deal. We have fun, support each other, and see what happened.
A battle worthy of the title. Hsieh Su-Wei and Wang Xinyu reign in Paris!
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 11, 2023
Women's Doubles final highlights 🎥#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/VxAEUeT1ge
WTA Insider: Hsieh Su-Wei, did you break a string this tournament?
Hsieh: I broke a string and I didn't know it. My brother said something and I said I don't need to change it. Then I saw I broke my string.
Wang: I was like, 'You broke a string," and she said "Oh, it's OK." And I thought, "Oh, that's a strategy."
Hsieh: My coach said it was the second time in 11 years. Normally my strings don't break for one or two years.
WTA Insider: Wang Xinyu, what did you learn about doubles tactics?
Wang: Every match we had new strategies. But I think both of us, because we're more focused on singles, it was good to practice our game.
Hsieh: We practice doubles but you try to manage something to help your singles. Because sometimes in singles you have an issue but you cannot manage it yourself because you're alone there. I like to play doubles to practice sometimes. If I don't play doubles and I play only singles, I cannot fix the stuff. So I like to play doubles.
It helps a lot. I was playing a singles match in Strasbourg and I didn't expect to win because I haven't get ready to play the singles. But I was hitting the ball really well in doubles and I was running really well.
So I think it's good for her to play doubles because she was hitting the ball very well cross-court. So the girls should watch out.
WTA Insider: Wang Xinyu, you were really dominating the baseline throughout the tournament. Does that give you confidence going into the grass season?
Wang: Sometimes in doubles, actually, you get faster balls back because they always come in on your return. In singles, maybe they will wait and put the return in with spin.
But we played many matches where I got second serves and the ball was coming back really fast. That was really helpful. I could practice that.
Now in singles I would feel the ball is coming slow. I hope so.
WTA Insider: Hsieh Su-Wei, you're set for the grass season with Barbora Strycova, but will you two team up again in the future?
Hsieh: We'll let the coaches deal with this. Next week, I pulled out of the tournament so I could do some fitness to come back for singles. But the singles will take time. It's not easy. But I will just enjoy and take time, and one day it will come. I'm not worried about it.
Me, I just need to eat good food, enjoy, smile, and push my partner to run, run run.