In her debut on the Paris brick dust alongside Gisela Dulko, the Argentines edged Americans Lindsay Davenport and Mary Joe Fernandez 6-3 and 6-3
This was the premiere of Gabriela Sabatini and Gisela Dulko at Roland Garros
With a smile on her face, Gabriela Sabatini returned to play tennis at 52 years old. And she did it with a great friend like Gisela Dulko . In the premiere of the Leyenda de Roland Garros tournament, the Argentine duo beat the couple made up of Lindsay Davenport and Mary Joe Fernandez, from the United States, by a double 6-3.
It was quite an attraction for the public that occupied the seats in the Suzanne Lenglen to see the best tennis player in Argentine history. And Gaby, like her partner and friend, enjoyed her return. This time to the brick dust of one of the most important tournaments in the world. “There were nerves”, was one of the first words that Sabatini said after the victory against the couple from the United States.
“It’s all new. It is the first time I play on this court. When we got warm it was special. It was an enormous emotion”, continued the player who used to be the Argentine flag bearer at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and won a silver medal in her only Olympic experience.
Sabatini and Dulko showed their full category in Paris. Visibly happy to be able to play in an iconic setting for the sport that led them to represent their country around the world, they played the game as if it were one of their careers. They hit 35 game winners, against the seven that the American pair hit. What’s more, they made only 16 unforced errors with Gisela.
Sabatini’s happiness at playing again at Roland Garros (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Although the pair Davenport (45)/Fernández (50) broke the serve of Gabriela, on her first two occasions on serve, was the 52-year-old former professional tennis player herself who gave herself the pleasure of closing the first set with a spectacular volley into the net. “The serve was always a less strong point. We feel pretty good today. Now we are going to be calmer”Sabatini commented in dialogue with ESPN at the end of the duel.
“We volleyed well, we made nice points”, added the winner of the US Open in 1990, in addition to another 26 titles as a professional.
That was one of the reasons for the victory for the Argentine duo in the duel for the Group of the legends contest of the tennis at Roland Garros. Her successes at the net set the pace of the game. But in addition, there were other pearls, how the slide from almost the back of the court in the fifth game of the second set in the hands of Sabatini. Another fact to highlight about the Argentines is that they were lethal in taking advantage of their break chances. In that aspect, they finished with a high ERA (7/9), which allowed them to take advantage.
Gaby showed her entire category on the net (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Once the meeting was over and the protocol greeting with Davenport and Fernández passed, Gabriela and Gisela relaxed and took the opportunity to highlight how the preparation for the tournament was, which even included similar clothing for both. “We had to come with all the attire, there is production in the back. We are twins”, they both said with a smile.
“Playing alongside Gaby is a dream for me, on this court, with these people. It’s all new, coming back after so many years, they were 10 without playing in a stadium like this, but it’s incredible”, recognized Dulko, 37, who returned in what was his specialty at one stage of his career, where he became number 1 in the world in doubles.
Before he could even hydrate himself, Sabatini had to go to the area behind his chair to greet several Argentine fans who asked for an autograph or a selfie. And as was the case when Gaby was a star on the WTA circuit, an Argentine flag that read “Gabylandia” also appeared in the audience. “I think that from now on we will be calmer. Let’s go step by step. What fills us most is having all the people behind”, concluded the best Argentine women’s racket of all time.
“That’s incredible, it’s what gets us the most. All supporting us”, added Dulko, who also succumbed to the request of the fans.
The words of Sabatini and Dulko after their victory
It must be remembered that this special contest is divided into two zones. The Argentine duo is in Group A, which also includes the French Tatiana Golovin (34 years old), champion of the doubles tournament in 2004, and the former top 3 Nathalie Tauziat. b> (54 years). In addition, there is the Croatian Iva Majoli (44), who won in Paris in 1997, with another local, Mary Pierce (47), who won the trophy in 2000.< /p>
Group B includes the historic Martina Navratilova (65), former number one and two-time champion at Roland Garros, the Italians Schiavone (41), winner in Paris in 2010, and Flavia Pennetta (40), former No. 1 in doubles. Also playing will be Rennae Stubbs (51) and Chanda Rubin (46), from the USA; the Slovak Daniela Hantuchova (39), the Bulgarian Magdalena Maleeva (47) and the French Sandrine Testud (50).
< p class=”paragraph”>The winning couples from each zone will advance to the grand final, which will be played next Saturday.