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Notebook Pascual, Suarez win second straight doubles titlePosted: Sunday June 09, 2002 5:08 PMPARIS (AP) -- Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez won their second consecutive French Open doubles title Sunday, beating the top-ranked team of Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs, 6-4, 6-2. "We've played together for 10 years," Spain's Ruano Pascual said. "We know every move on the court. I know what Paola is going to do, and it's the same for her." Ruano Pascual and Suarez seized control in the sixth game of the second set when Stubbs took a dive into the stands, but missed a return, making the score 4-2. "That was the truly crucial moment in the match," Suarez said. When an Stubbs angrily questioned a call in the next game, the crowd booed and hissed. Spurred on by the crowd, Suarez and Ruano Pascual dominated the last two games of the set. Ruano Pascual and Suarez improved to 5-4 against Raymond and Stubbs. Raymond and Stubbs have won three Grand Slam doubles titles, including last year's U.S. Open. The women's doubles championship was Spain's first victory of the day. Ruano Pascual was kissing her trophy for photographers just as countrymen Albert Costa and Juan Carlos Ferrero were preparing to play the first all-Spanish final since 1998. Costa won 6-1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.
Local boy makes goodRichard Gasquet picked up an early birthday present. Just nine days short of his 16th birthday, the French tennis prodigy beat countryman Laurent Recourderc 6-0, 6-1 to win the junior boy's championship. Gasquet became the 11th French boy to win the title at Roland Garros and the first since Paul-Henri Mathieu won in 2000. Gasquet also competed in the men's main draw but lost in the first round to eventual champion Albert Costa. "It was not easy to do, to play this tournament after playing in the main draw," Gasquet said. Recourderc can use this as consolation: Both men's finalists, Costa and Juan Carlos Ferrero, lost in juniors finals at Roland Garros in previous years.
Gaga for WidjajaDefending junior girl's Wimbledon champion Angelique Widjaja earned another Grand Slam trophy, beating American Ashley Harkleroad 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, to win the French Open junior single's title. "I'm very happy," said Widjaja, who also played in the women's main draw but lost in the second round to Evie Dominkovic. Widjaja said a 6-0, 6-1 loss to Harkleroad at an earlier tournament in Belgium prompted here to switch strategies. "After the first set I knew that I had to push her," Widjaja said. "I couldn't play slowly because I know she loves that."
Black SundayCara and Wayne Black of Zimbabwe won their first Grand Slam mixed doubles title Sunday, beating Elena Bovina of Russia and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas 6-3, 6-3 in the French Open final. Their best showing in a Grand Slam tournament prior to Sunday's victory was reaching the quarterfinals in the 2001 U.S. Open.
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