Sands, Safarova win doubles title

Paris: American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and the Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova claimed their third consecutive Grand Slam doubles title with a convincing 6-,2 6-1 victory over Australian duo Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua at the French Open on Sunday.

The top-seeded pair of Mattek-Sands and Safarova, who also won the 2016 US Open and the Australian Open earlier this year, are one grand slam away from holding all four majors at the same time.

The Australian duo, who were bidding for their first grand slam title together, struggled for the majority of the hour-long contest after their serve was broken three times in each set.

Mattek-Sands, however, praised her opponents, who had dropped just one set on their way to the final."You guys have done a great job and you're an awesome team,” the 32-year-old said.

"I’m sure we're gonna be facing you again soon." The Australian pair reached three grand slam finals together in 2013 without taking home the trophy and were unable to end their long wait in Paris, while Dellacqua's overall record in women's doubles finals is 0-7.