On the Saturday before the start of the French Open, 12 different singles and doubles champions were crowned in ATP and WTA tournaments in Geneva, Lyon, Strasbourg and Nuremberg.

Only three of those players are still in action now in Roland Garros as they go for their second tournament victory in a row.

Stan Wawrinka, coming off a win at his “home” tournament in Geneva, Switzerland, has reached the semifinals in Paris. His victory over Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals marked the fifth match he’s won in a row without dropping a set.

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In women’s doubles, Strasbourg champs Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua have found France to their liking as they’ve notched eight wins a row. Unseeded at Roland Garros, the Australians have reached the semifinals, winning all their matches in straight sets.

Barty and Dellacqua have been making up for lost time in 2017. Barty took a break from tennis and pursued a career in cricket, but she’s managed to come back better than ever. The pair definitely has the experience to keep pushing through in Paris. They’re also playing for a bit of history: If they make it through to the finals, they will have reached the title match at all four majors together.

Most of the other champs from the week before the French had trouble getting off the blocks. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who won his first career clay-court title in Lyon, France, dropped his opening match in Paris to Renzo Olivo.

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Samantha Stosur, the Strasbourg singles champion and a former French Open finalist, appeared to have a strong shot at making a deep run into the second week. Instead, her winning streak came to a halt at the hands of surprise semifinalist Jelena Ostapenko.

It’s a risky proposition, playing the week before a Grand Slam, and you rarely see any of the top contenders doing so. However, it’s hard to argue at this point against the decision made by Wawrinka.

The 2014 French Open champ had a very average clay-court stretch before Geneva, failing to collect many wins in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome. This season actually marks the second year in a row that he’s used Geneva as a springboard for a deep Roland Garros run.

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