Gille makes history at French Open; Belgian duo win third round thriller

Published 11:12 am Monday, June 5, 2023

PARIS, France – In a thrilling third round match that lasted nearly three hours on historic Court Philippe-Chatrier, Sander Gille and doubles partner Joran Vliegen defeated another seeded team in three sets on Saturday at the French Open.

Gille/Vliegen took down No. 9 seed Santiago Gonzalez/Edouard Roger-Vasselin en route to advancing to their first-ever quarterfinal match at Roland Garros. Gille/Vliegen – who earned straight-set wins in their first two matches – jumped out to the early lead after winning the opener, 7-5. From there, Gonzalez/Vasselin – who are both ranked in the top-20 of the ITA doubles ranking – took the second set, 7-6 (3), setting up the gut-wrenching finale in the third.

With their back pinned against the wall after dropping the first three games and trailing 4-1 in the decisive third set, Gille/Vliegen started inching their way back into the match by clipping the deficit to, 4-2. However, momentum shifted again as Gonzalez/Vasselin went ahead, 5-2, but Gille/ Vliegen continued to battle. The Belgian duo held serve and kept the match alive by breaking serve, making it a 5-4. With Gille/Vliegen back on serve, they made it three straight to pull even at 5-5. After both tandems held service, they went to a super tiebreaker, which Gille/ Vliegen cruised to the 10-5 win. Gille/Vliegen and three of the first four points in the tiebreaker and eventually took a comfortable 8-3 lead before both teams split the final four points for the victory.

With Gille/Vliegen advancing to their first ever quarterfinal match at Roland Garros, the Belgian teammates will now take on No. 14 seed Maximo Gonzales/Andres Molteni of Argentina. The pair from Argentina upset the No. 2 overall seed in three sets on Saturday.

This marks the second career Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance for both Gille/Vliegen, as they reached this point at the 2020 U.S. Open.

A date and time for the French Open quarterfinal match will be announced later.

Gille, who is ranked No. 41 in ATP Doubles, is coming off a championship run with Vliegen in the 2023 Estoril Open back in April. The duo were the No. 4 seed in the tournament and rattled off four wins to claim the title.

Gille helped guide ETSU to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2009-12 and was a three-time first team all-ASUN selection. Gille was named ASUN Player of the Year and Tournament MVP in 2010. Gille finished his collegiate career with 72 wins in the Blue & Gold.