Kamiji and Montjane relish Chatrier showcase
Yui Kamiji and Kgothatso Montjane overcame the French duo of Pauline Deroulede and Emmanuelle Morch on Court Philippe Chatrier on Friday to book their place in the 2023 Roland Garros women’s wheelchair doubles final.
The duo, who are seeded No. 1, will face Diede de Groot and Maria Florencia Moreno in the title match on Saturday, after De Groot and Moreno defeated Manami Tanaka and Zhu Zhenzhen in a match tiebreak in Friday’s other semi-final. De Groot has won the doubles title in Paris for the last five years, but is playing alongside Moreno here for the first time, with regular partner Aniek van Koot missing Roland Garros due to injury.
Kamiji and Montjane proved themselves undaunted by the home crowd’s support for the French pair in securing a 6-1 6-2 win in one hour and 15 minutes.
“We realised yesterday how much they were supported,” Montjane said of the French team. S“o we came in with the mindset that we need to be focused, because if we a bit slack, the crowd would felt like a third person to play against on court.”
The match was perhaps closer than the scoreline suggested, with long, draining rallies a feature throughout. And while the French crowd may not have been happy with the final outcome, it was certainly an excellent showcase for wheelchair tennis – especially ahead of the Paris Paralympic Games in 2024.
“It's a good opportunity for us to keep showcasing our talent and hopefully we can attract more people to come and watch,” Montjane said of the opportunity to play on the venue’s main show court. “It really says a lot about our sport, it means there's a lot of talent, people are improving and there is a lot of competition. It's really important that our sport be showcased and the most importantly be supported.”
Kamiji, who played against De Groot in the singles final on Chatrier last year, concurred with her partner.
“It was really nice to play on that court, of course, and with many crowds, even if they support our opponents,” she added. “It's really nice to see them and to show how we can perform.”
Wheelchair tennis will be played on Chatrier again on Saturday, with the men’s singles final between Alfie Hewett and Tokito Oda set to begin at 11am local time. The women’s final between De Groot and Kamiji and the quad final between Niels Vink and Sam Schroder will both take place on another of the venue’s show courts – Court 14, the intimate arena at the west end of the grounds.
Elsewhere in doubles action on Friday, Hewett and Gordon Reid overcame Oda and Joachim Gerard to advance to the men’s doubles final, where they will face Martin de la Puente and Gustavo Fernandez, after the Spanish-Argentinian duo defeated Stephane Houdet and Takashi Sanada in the last four.
The surprise of the day came in the quad doubles semi-finals, with top seeds Schroder and Vink falling to Andy Lapthorne and Donald Ramphadi, who were playing together for the first time. Lapthorne and Ramphadi will play Heath Davidson and Robert Shaw in the final on Saturday.