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.
“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:
French Open finals reaction
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.
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…