Gille continues to roll at Roland Garros; doubles duo advance to semifinals

Published 8:16 am Tuesday, June 6, 2023

PARIS, France – Sander Gille continues to make more history at Roland Garros.

Playing in their first-ever quarterfinal match at the French Open, Gille and doubles partner Joran Vliegen took down the 14th-seeded Argentinian duo of Maximo Gonzales/Andres Molteni in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (4), Monday on Court Simonne-Mathieu.

With the win, this marks the first time Gille/Vliegen will play in a semifinal match at a Grand Slam event.

After playing nearly a three-hour match on Saturday, Gille/Vliegen defeated Gonzales/Molteni in one hour and thirty-nine minutes on Monday. Both teams held serve early in round one, but with the set even at 4-4, Gille/Vliegen finally broke through and won the final two points en route to capturing the opener, 6-4.

The second set was much like the third set of Saturday’s match.

Gille/Vliegen went down 3-0 early, but the Belgian duo never backed down from the fight. Gille/Vliegen got on the board making it 3-1, but with the Argentinian team serving, the 14th-ranked duo went ahead, 4-1. Then, facing a 5-2 deficit, Gille/Vliegen won the next three points – pulling all-square at, 5-5. After both teams held serve, they went to a tiebreaker, which Gille/Vliegen won two of the first three points. However, Gonzales/Molteni won back-to-back points to go up one, 3-2. Gille/Vliegen won the next three points to take control of the match – and after Gonzales/Molteni pulled within a point – the Belgian duo won the final two points to take down their third seeded team of the tournament.

Gille/Vliegen will get the No. 12 seed duo of Andreas Mies (Germany) and Matwe Middelkoop (Netherlands) on Thursday. Mies has won a pair of doubles titles at the French Open, coming in 2019 and 2020. Mies/Middelkoop defeated the No. 3 overall seed in straight sets on Monday.

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.