French Open 2021: Joe Salisbury & Desirae Krawczyk wins British Roland Garros Mixed double title.
Joe Salisbury became the first British tennis player to win a French Open title in 39 years as he triumphed in the mixed doubles final alongside Desirae Krawczyk.
This made Joe Salisbury the first British winner of a main draw Roland Garros event since John Lloyd in 1982.
The 29-year-old, who is also a former Australian Open champion in doubles, ended a wait of nearly four decades for a British winner of one of the five main draw events at Roland Garros by beating Aslan Karatsev and Elena Vesnina 2-6, 6-4, 10-5.
Salsibury, who was broken in his very first service game, and Krawczyk lost the opening set as Aslan Karatsev used his powerful forehand to gain an advantage in the rallies.
However, the British and American pair fought back and clinched a crucial break in the second set to take a 5-4 lead. This allowed Salisbury to serve out the set despite a contentious line call on set point.
“I just want to say to Des, it has been an incredible week for us and I don't think we expected this,” Salisbury said on-court after the match, paying tribute to his partner."It has been so much fun playing with you. Thanks for carrying me.”
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