Jordanne Whiley loses in French Open final

Whiley and Kamiji, who were hunting a third crown at Roland Garros, lost 6-3 6-4 to Dutch duo and defending champions Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot yesterday afternoon.

In a tight game, top seeds De Groot and Van Koot eventually took command in both sets, the early stages of which were characterised by continued breaks of serve.

There were four in succession during the opening set, with the rivals locked together at 3-3 before the Dutch pair made the decisive break in the eighth game.

No player was then able to hold their serve through the opening nine games of the second set. Whiley and Kamiji had a point to make it 10 in a row and move the score to 5-5 but were unable to take it as their opponents closed out victory.

It was the fourth straight doubles title De Groot and Van Koot have won and Whiley and Kamiji, who have combined to win 11 career Grand Slam doubles tournaments, will now turn their attentions to Wimbledon next month as they look to end the current dominance of their rivals.

De Groot, the world No.1, had also claimed the women’s singles title earlier in the weekend, defeating Kamiji in the final. That came after Whiley, the world No4, had been beaten comprehensively by her Japanese partner, 6-2 6-1, in the opening round of the singles event on Friday.

The pair then teamed up to power past first-time doubles partners Angelica Bernal and Emmanuelle Morch in the semi-finals but De Groot and Van Koot once again proved too strong.

In the men’s doubles, top seeds Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid became the most successful all-British doubles partnership in Grand Slam competition.

Their 6-3 6-0 final win over second seeds Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer meant they retained the Roland Garros title they won last October and claimed their 11th Grand Slam title together, breaking a national record which had stood since 1905.