Doubles Take: Roland Garros draws winding down

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As the year’s second major nears its conclusion, Doubles Take is here with a look at the action at the French Open.

A first-time Grand Slam-winning team is already guaranteed in men’s and mixed doubles at Roland Garros this year, and should Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic fall in the semifinal, the same will be true in the women’s event.

In other words, it’s been a tournament full of surprises, with more in store as the final weekend approaches.

Right from the start, the women’s draw was hit by the withdrawal of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, the top seeds and defending champions. They were joined on the sidelines after the first round by last year’s men’s winners Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, the third seeds.

And those two were far from the only contenders that didn’t make it out of the first week.

Former top-ranked teams Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, and Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic—both of whom entered the tournament with momentum on their sides—were gone early. Two-time French Open champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, who won a pair of titles leading up to Paris, were upset in the first round. Stuttgart winners Desirae Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs, the fifth seeds, were shocked in round two.

Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens, the second seeds, and third seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos lasted a round later before suffering upsets of their own.

In the places of all those teams, though, are a number of worthy title hopefuls.

The men’s semis are set with Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, the fourth seeds, slated to take on Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek, winners in Lyon right before the French Open started. In the bottom half of the draw, Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop, the 16th seeds, will play 12th seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer, two-time champions in 2022.

Among the women, Madison Keys and Taylor Townsend—making her first appearance at a major since becoming a mom—are through to the final four, along with Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko, the 14th seeds. Keys and Townsend are waiting for the winner of the Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula-Anna Bondar/Greet Minnen match, while Kichenok and Ostapenko will play Garcia/Mladenovic, who knocked out 13th seeds Yifan Xu/Zhaoxuan Yang, who won in Indian Wells this year.

And in mixed doubles, Ulrikke Eikeri and Joran Vliegen—who stopped Krawczyk and Neal Skupski from winning another major together—stand among some of the best on both tours who’ve teamed up for Paris. Wesley Koolhof and Ena Shibahara, the second seeds, face Gabriela Dabrowski and John Peers, seeded third.