Gabriela Dabrowski makes Canadian tennis history at French Open
Ottawa player wins mixed doubles title
Gabriela Dabrowski became the first Canadian woman to win a Grand Slam tennis title Thursday, capturing the mixed doubles crown at the French Open with Indian partner Rohan Bopanna.
After advancing to the final without dropping a set, the seventh-seeded team rallied to defeat Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Robert Farah of Colombia 2-6, 6-2, 12-10.
Dabrowski and Bopanna saved two match points in the tiebreak, and Groenefeld double-faulted on match point to hand them the victory.
"Hopefully you've enjoyed that final. There were lots of efforts on both sides," Dabrowski said in an on-court interview.
The 25-year-old from Ottawa is having the best year of her professional career, rising to the top 20 in the WTA's women's doubles rankings after capturing a title in Miami with China's Xu Yifan.
Three Canadian men have won Grand Slam titles, led by Daniel Nestor with eight in men's doubles and another four in mixed doubles. Sebastian Lareau and Vasek Pospisil have each won a men's doubles major with an American teammate.
No Canadian tennis player has ever won a Grand Slam singles tournament. The closest are Milos Raonic, who reached the Wimbledon men's final last year, and Eugenie Bouchard, who played in the women's title match at Wimbledon in 2014.
Canadian-born Greg Rusedski made it to the U.S. Open men's final in 1997, but by that time he was representing Great Britain.
With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press