FOES UNITED
Caroline, Kristina put rivalry aside to lead France into Fed Cup final
FRANCE set up a Fed Cup final against Australia on Sunday when Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, who once were barely on speaking terms, teamed-up to crown a 3-2 victory over Romania.
Former Roland Garros doubles champions Caroline and Kristina beat Simona Halep and Monica Niculescu 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to secure the winning point and a final date against Australia in November.
Victory was a diplomatic coup for France coach Julien Benneteau who teamed up Caroline and Kristina for the first time in Fed Cup since 2016 after which the pair had a bitter falling out which led to a self-imposed Fed Cup exile for Caroline, her country’s top player.
“Every match was incredible,” said Benneteau. “I am so proud of them. It was always my intention to put them together — and it was not hard to do.”
Earlier Sunday, French Open champion Simona won her second singles of the weekend, seeing off Caroline 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-4 for a 2-1 lead in the semi-final.
Veteran Pauline Parmentier then beat a hobbling IrinaCamelia Begu 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 to pull France level.
“We prepared ourselves as best as we could, we had a good training session at the beginning of the week, and we were ready, maybe at the beginning we made some mistakes,” said Caroline.
“We really made the effort from start to finish together, it was intense on the court from the first point of the weekend to the last. But it was a great weekend and we can really be proud.”
France, who won the last of their two titles in 2003, will travel to Australia for the final.