Last-minute text pays off for Roland Garros champs Roger-Vasselin/Siegemund

A story that started with a text message sent just in the nick of time culminated with a Grand Slam trophy for Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Laura Siegemund on Thursday at Roland Garros.

The German-French duo knocked off Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski 6-4, 7-5 to clinch the mixed doubles title in Paris. After defeating the two-time Wimbledon champions, Roger-Vasselin and Siegemund explained how close they had come to not lining up for their team debut in the first place.

“This was a last-minute thing,” Siegemund said at the trophy ceremony on Court Philippe-Chatrier. “I didn’t want to play mixed here, because I was in singles and women’s doubles also. Then Edouard texted me like two hours before the deadline.

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“I always wanted to play with him, and it was always somehow not working out, and then I was like, ‘I can’t say no, now he’s finally free.’ So I think it was a good decision that we signed up. Thank you so much for playing with me. I enjoyed some mixed before, but this was special, I really enjoyed it.”

Said Roger-Vasselin: “Thank you Laura for accepting my last-minute [request.] Two hours before the deadline, I had no partner, and you said yes. I’m glad you said yes, and we had a great week, so thank you to you and your team as well.”

Roger-Vasselin and Siegemund broke Skupski’s serve in the opening game of the match and stayed rock solid throughout the match. The only notable setback they faced came when they lost a deuce deciding point, which doubled as a championship point, on the Frenchman’s serve at 4-5, 40/40. The second-seeded duo responded superbly, breaking Krawczyk’s serve in the next game before holding firm behind Siegemund’s delivery for victory.

The eventual champions were aggressive on return throughout their 1-hour, 40-minute win. Roger-Vasselin and Siegemund converted four of 10 break points they earned, while they also fended off nine of the 11 break points.

It was a second major title for Roger-Vasselin, who won the Roland Garros men’s doubles crown in 2014. Siegemund is now a three-time Grand Slam champion. She previously won the US Open in mixed doubles in 2016 and in women’s doubles in 2020.