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PARIS: Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini won Italy’s first Olympic tennis gold medal on Sunday by defeating Mila Andreeva and Diana Schneider 2-6 6-1 (10-7) to capture the women’s doubles title.
The Russian pair of Andreeva/Schnyder, competing as neutrals, won the first set, but after the Italian pair fought back, she had to settle for the silver medal.
“After the first set it was tough and I just wanted to do better in the second set. It was very important… We gave everything and we won the gold medal,” Paolini said.
Errani added: “Obviously we had a tough first set but in the end we played well.”
Cristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain won bronze, beating Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.
Errani, 37, a former world No.1 in doubles, became the seventh player to complete the women’s doubles Golden Slam, having won four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympic title.
Errani also became the oldest player to win an Olympic tennis gold medal, breaking the record set by Novak Djokovic, who is a month younger, when he won the men’s singles final two hours earlier.
It was Italy’s first gold medal in Olympic tennis and came a day after fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime to take bronze in the men’s singles.
Italy’s only previous medal in tennis at the Olympics came at the 1924 Paris Games, when Uberto de Morpurgo won bronze in men’s singles.
Errani and Paolini said they had to calm themselves down to recover from a disappointing first set.
“In the first set we had to slowly find the rhythm of the match,” Errani told reporters.
“It was also physically challenging. My nerves were very tense and the pressure was very high,” added Errani, who underwent physiotherapy after his seventh match to treat a muscle problem.
However, the Italians soon found their footing in the match, serving better and hitting deeper, taking the second set and prevailing in a super tie-break.
“The second set was a complete game changer. We went all out from the start,” Errani said. “From that moment on, Jasmine relaxed, and we put more pressure on Andreeva and Schneider. We found the right way.”
“We also tried more smashes. We didn’t play close to the net. We got into the match, got into the battle, and I could tell that both me and Jasmine moved a lot better, and that’s why.”
At 17, Andreeva became the second-youngest medalist in Olympic tennis history. Jennifer Capriati won the singles gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics at the age of 16 32 years ago.
The Russian pair were pleased with their silver medal in their first Olympic Games.
“We’re proud of it. We can do better, but we’re happy with the result for our first time competing,” Schneider said.
— Reuters
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