Madrid, good first for Errani and Paolini: doubles victory in super tie-break

Winning debut for Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the doubles draw of the prestigious “Mutua Madrid Open,” a WTA, and Atp 1000 tournament underway on the clay courts of the Caja Mágica. The Italian women, second seeds, made it through the first round by imposing with a score of 6-4, 6-7(3), 10-6 over the pair formed by Taiwanese Chan Hao-Ching and Mexican Giuliana Olmos, in a match that lasted one’hour and 49 minutes.

A hard-fought victory, which came at the end of an up and down match, in which Errani and Paolini had to struggle against tight opponents and a less than flawless day from the point of view of lead management. After winning the first set thanks to a decisive break in the seventh game, the Italians complicated their lives in the second partial, wasting the opportunity to close the match despite being ahead at several moments. In the tie-break, in fact, Chan and Olmos were more cynical, taking the match to the super tie-break.

In the final tie-break, the opponents started off better, taking a 4-2 lead, but the blue women reacted with grit and determination, stringing together a series of four consecutive points to make it 6-4. After yet another tiebreak (6-6), the final sprint came: Errani and Paolini dominated the last exchanges, ending the match with a first-set winner from Paolini.

For the Azzurri it was an important success, also from a moral point of view: after the title won in Doha, in fact, they had cashed three defeats in the last four outings. They will find a tough obstacle on their way in the second round: Russian Veronika Kudermetova and Belgium’s Elise Mertens.

A challenge that promises to be of a high level and could represent a real watershed for Errani and Paolini’s season.