France's Nathalie Dechy hooked up with Israel's Andy Ram to heal dented French pride by winning the mixed doubles title at the French Open on Thursday.
The eighth seeded duo beat Slovenian-Serbian pair Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjic 7-5 6-3 to win their first title together.
With the French producing their worst result in the singles at Roland Garros since 1997 - as only Marion Bartoli reached the fourth round before bowing out - Dechy ensured that home fans would have at least something to cheer about.
Duo presents trophy (Photo: AFP)
"It was the first time that we've played together and we won the tournament. It was a fantastic week," said Dechy.
"It is fantastic to win a grand slam tournament (and) we're going to play Wimbledon in two weeks' time."
Dechy added the trophy to the women's doubles title she won at the US Open last September with Vera Zvonareva while Ram tasted success with the same Russian player in the 2006 mixed event at Wimbledon.
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