Guo, Mladenovic stun third seeds Zhang, Mertens to reach French Open quarterfinals

China's Guo Hanyu and France's Kristina Mladenovic produced one of the biggest upsets in the women's doubles draw at the French Open on Monday, stunning third seeds Zhang Shuai of China and Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals in Paris.

The victory marks a major milestone for the 28-year-old Guo, who reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam event for the first time in her career. This is also the first time that she and Mladenovic have advanced to the last eight in a major tournament as partners.

The 13th-seeded Chinese/French pair arrived in Paris with growing confidence after their January triumph at the ASB Classic in Auckland and third round appearance at the Australian Open, their best Grand Slam result together before Roland Garros. Meanwhile, Zhang and Mertens entered the match as one of the title favorites after lifting the Australian Open women's doubles trophy in January.

Guo and Mladenovic quickly seized control on Court Simonne Mathieu. A powerful forehand from Mladenovic helped seal a crucial break for a 4-2 lead in the opening set and they never looked back, claiming the frame 6-2 when Zhang sent a forehand wide.

The 13th seeds maintained their momentum in the second set, breaking early again to move ahead 2-0. Mladenovic, a four-time French Open women's doubles champion, brought her vast experience on the Parisian clay to the forefront, while Guo matched her partner's intensity from the baseline.

The match ended when Zhang's backhand volley found the net, sealing a straight-sets victory for Guo and Mladenovic.

"No matter who we face, we try our best to play to our strengths," Guo said after the victory. "As a team, whether it's serving, returning, hitting from the baseline, or even moving to the net, we have the ability to put pressure on our opponents and play the style we want."

For Mladenovic, the result sends her into the women's doubles quarterfinals at her home Grand Slam once again, adding to an already impressive Roland Garros record that includes four doubles titles and a singles quarterfinal appearance in 2017.

Guo and Mladenovic will next face Chinese Taipei's Liang En-Shuo and Japan's Shuko Aoyama for a place in the semifinals.