The French Open women's final will start at 11pm AEST on Saturday. The win marked the first mixed doubles title for both Puetz and Kato, who had not conceded a set before the final. "Miyu, it is unbelievable what has happened in the past 10 days," Puetz said. Kato and Puetz played for the first time together at Roland Garros. "I want to thank all the players, coaches, everyone for their heartfelt messages of support." "It has been really challenging for me for the past few days," Kato said. Playing with Tim Puetz of Germany, they won the tournament by defeating 2019 US Open singles champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada and Michael Venus of New Zealand 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 after a super tiebreak decided the outcome of Thursday's match. Kato also forfeited all of her $34,500 in prize money and rankings points from women's doubles but was allowed to keep participating in mixed doubles. Miyu Kato and Tim Puetz lift the trophy on court after claiming the French Open mixed doubles title. Kato, a 28-year-old player from Japan, and her women's doubles partner were defaulted during their third-round match last week after Kato accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck after a point. Miyu Kato has left behind the disappointment of her controversial disqualification in doubles by claiming the mixed doubles title at the French Open. "It wasn't easy." Kato bounces back from doubles disqualification "It was stressful in some moments, so I'm happy that I was really solid and I was able to close it in the tiebreaker," Swiatek said. A few moments later, it was over, allowing Swiatek to improve to 60-13 in grand slam play for her career - the same record Serena Williams had after 73 matches at majors. In the tiebreaker, Haddad Maia held a set point at 6-5, but she slapped a seemingly neutral ball into the net. Then, in the second, the big-swinging, left-handed Haddad Maia took a 3-1 lead, before Swiatek got back on serve. Swiatek did not begin particularly well in her match, getting broken at love in the very first game. She returned to speaking to the media after her quarterfinal win. She was asked about the war following each of her first two victories, and Sabalenka refused to participate in standard post-match news conferences after her next two contests, saying she felt unsafe and wanted to protect her mental health and well-being. The subject of Belarus's role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine - the attacks began in February 2022 and continue to this day - and Sabalenka's stance on the matter arose repeatedly, in part because she faced two Ukrainian opponents. It was tough to decide which was more stunning: that Sabalenka lost - or the way she lost. On the other hand, she is now 5-0 for her career against players ranked in the top three. Swiatek is seeking a third title in Paris and fourth major championship in all and her win in the semifinals assured the 22-year-old from Poland of remaining atop the WTA rankings.Īt number 43, Muchova is the fourth-lowest-ranked women's finalist in French Open history. In Saturday's title match, she will meet number one-ranked Iga Swiatek, the defending champion, who got past number 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 7-6 (7) last night. Muchova somehow worked her way out of that difficult situation, grabbing the last five games against an error-prone Sabalenka for a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory at Roland Garros to reach her first major final at the last place she expected. And then, dealing with cramping legs nearly three hours into the match, she was just one point from losing to number two Aryna Sabalenka, who entered the match with a 12-0 grand slam record in 2023, including an Australian Open title.
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