South Africa's brief and unmemorable participation in the French Open singles was terminated with Chanelle Scheepers' 6-4 6-3 defeat against fourth-seeded Elana Dementieva in a first-round women's game at Roland Garros - leaving the men's doubles to save face.
The 25 year-old Scheepers was the only South African to qualify for the singles at the sumptuous Paris grand slam event and was far from disgraced against her formidable, unforgiving Russian opponent.
Now, Jeff Coetzee, Rik De Voest and Wesley Moodie, all partnered by non-South Africans, will be seeking a greater degree of success in the men's doubles.
Coetzee and Australian Jorden Kerr are, in fact, seeded 11th, with Rik De Voest and his Australian partner, Ashley Fisher, the 14th seeds - but with an unenviable second round game in the offing against French multi-grand slam winners Fabrice Santoro and Michael Lodra.
Moodie, a former Wimbledon doubles winner, has teamed up with veteran Dick Norman in what appears a partnership with possibilities. But the South African-Belgian duo face the daunting prospect of a first round match-up against seventh-seeded Max
Mirnyi and Andy Ram.
Zimbabwe's Cara Black and Liezel Huber are seeded number one in the women's doubles, but South African-born Huber now plays under the United States banner.
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