Taylor Townsend and Leylah Fernandez, the American-Canadian duo were just inches away from lifting their first Grand Slam title. But Taiwan’s Hsieh-Su-Wei and China’s Wang Xinyu mounted a comeback from nowhere thus scripting a historic win here at the French Open women’s doubles final. The final score line read, 6-1,6-7,6-1.

It was understandably a painful loss for Leylah and Townsend and Leylah couldn’t control her tears. However, her doubles partner Townsend comforted and consoled her with her pep talk. This was captured by the cameras and it made rounds all through social media.

An exemplary example of how a doubles team should be

Townsend and Fernandez could have won the match when they secured the mini-break in the second set tie-breaker having won the first set comfortably. Though Townsend and Fernandez lost the match, they won thousands of people’s hearts.

When Fernandez was shedding tears in dejection and disappointment, it was Townsend who absolutely took the initiative to make sure that her partner felt alright and consoled.

It proved that they not only had great chemistry on the court but also enjoyed a great level of friendship and understanding off the court. To see the bubblegum squad member comforting Fernandez was really a heartwarming gesture for the spectators.

Heartbreak for the 10th seeds

Today’s final was a roller coaster ride with no team seeming to coast through a victory quite easily. Yes, after the mini-break in the second set, the 10th seeds should have gotten through, but somehow they lost the plot altogether and lost the momentum. The tiebreaker was a heartbreak for them.

This is what could have shattered Fernandez the most. Being so close to victory and not seeing it materialize was hurtful to the inexperienced twenty-year-old Fernandez.

Townsend, being seven years older than Fernandez almost took the role of a big sister in calming down the pained heart of the youngster. At the end of the day, it is just a sport. It isn’t the end of the world. And the young Canadian will learn it as her career progresses.

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There is no shame in crying. We all know how even the legendary Roger Federer cried in the 2009 Australian Open victory ceremony after losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. In fact, that is the beauty of the sport. There are so many intense emotions involved and makes up for the beauty of tennis and sports in general.

This match may prove to be a game-changer for Townsend and Fernandez and be a catalyst for them to work even harder.

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