Dellacqua, Barty eye historic French title

Casey Dellacqua and Ashleigh Barty are the first all-Australian pairing to make the French Open women's doubles final in Paris in 46 years.

Australian doubles pairing Ashleigh Barty (L) and Casey Dellacqua

Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua are one win away from an historic French Open doubles triumph. (AAP)

Casey Dellacqua insists she has nothing to prove to Margaret Court after closing in on an historic French Open doubles triumph with Ashleigh Barty.

Dellacqua and Barty are the first all-Australian women's pairing to make the title match in Paris in 46 years following a 7-5 4-6 6-3 semi-final victory over Czech sixth seeds Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova.

Runners-up at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open in 2013, Dellacqua and Barty are also the first Aussie team in the open era to reach all four women's grand slam doubles finals - and only the fourth pair ever after Court achieved the feat three times in the 1960s with Judy Dalton, Lesley Bowrey and Robyn Ebbern.

Now the Fed Cup teammates have the chance to atone for several grand slam near misses and become the first Aussie duo to land the women's title at Roland Garros since Court and Judy Dalton denied compatriots Fay Toyne and Jill Blackman in the 1966 final.

Victory would be extra sweet for Dellacqua after the openly gay star - who has two children with partner Amanda Judd - was swept up in the furore surrounding Court's vocal opposition to same-sex marriage.

Dellacqua tweeted "Margaret. Enough is Enough" on the eve of the Open, alongside a letter to the editor from Court in 2013 that lamented the same-sex couple's son had "seemingly been deprived of his father".

Players have since threatened to boycott Margaret Court Arena at next year's Australian Open if the stadium's name isn't changed after the 24-time major singles winner further inflamed tensions by saying "tennis is full of lesbians" and that transgender children are the work of the devil.

But while Dellacqua admits it's been an emotionally draining campaign, the 32-year-old says she's not motivated to make any locker-room statement to Court with victory over top seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova on Sunday night.

"Once it was done, it was done," Dellacqua told AAP.

"It's been a big week, but it's also good when you've got a focus, which is the tennis."

And Dellacqua's focus is very much on avenging a loss to Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova in the 2015 final with Yaroslava Shvedova, after the West Australian also fell short in the 2008 decider with Francesca Schiavone.

Having also lost the 2015 US Open final with Shvedova, Dellacqua is none from six in grand slam women's doubles deciders.

The left-hander does, though, own a French Open title, having won the mixed event in 2011 with American Scott Lipsky.

After rejoining the tour last year following a two-year sabbatical and sporting switch to cricket, Barty is also eyeing a breakthrough after first announcing herself as a future star with Wimbledon junior singles glory at just 15 in 2011.

Australia's only winners of the French Open women's doubles in the open era have been Alicia Molik (in 2005 with Mara Santangelo), Samantha Stosur (in 2004 with Lisa Raymond), Wendy Turnbull (in 1979 with Betty Stove) and Court (in 1973 with Virginia Wade).

The last time an all-Australian pairing made the women's decider in Paris, Helen Gourlay and Kerry Harris lost in 1971 to French duo Gail Chanfreau and Francoise Durr.


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Source: AAP



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