WTA Finals, doubles: Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani get off on the right foot

Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani’s WTA Finals doubles tournament began with a victory in two sets: beating, on the concrete of the King Saud University Indoor Arena in Riyadh, the pair formed by the American Asia Muhammad and the Dutch Demi Schuurs, with a double 6-3 that matured in a total of one hour and eighteen minutes.

After a balanced start, the two Italian champions took the lead after the sixth game of the first set, coinciding with the first break brought home for the momentary 4-2. Four set points were then needed to close out the fraction, which saw Muhammad and Schuurs try to hold on but bow out after just under forty minutes.

The second fraction saw Errani and Paolini get off to a great start, immediately ahead 2-0, before the comeback of the day’s opponents who managed to take a 3-2 lead by winning three games in a row. From there on, however, it was a monologue for the Azzurri, with the Olympic doubles champions winning four games in a row and bringing home the win.

The good start to the tournament is useful to look forward to the next two matches but does not guarantee a pass in the round: Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani will have to avoid missteps in the next two matches, in which they will face Hsieh/Ostapenko and Kudermetova/Mertens in the ‘Martina Navratilova Group’. The top two ranked pairs advance to the semifinals.