Italian hopes Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini thrilled the home crowd at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday with a gritty 6-3, 4-6 [10-8] victory over No.3 seeds Coco Gauff and Erin Routliffe in the doubles final.
On the red clay of Center Court at the Foro Italico, the final went down to the wire before the unseeded tandem of Errani and Paolini finished off the upset after 1 hour and 28 minutes of play, clinching the WTA 1000 title in Rome.
It is Errani and Paolini’s second team title of the season and third overall. They have already teamed up to take the trophies at WTA 250 Linz in February and WTA 250 Monastir last season.
Both of this year’s clay-court WTA 1000 titles have gone to unseeded pairings on their home soil. Prior to Errani and Paolini’s triumph in the Italian capital, Spaniards Cristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo captured the Mutua Madrid Open in their own capital city.
More to come…