Málaga (His). Italian Olympic gold medalists Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini defeated Katarzyna Cava and Inga Swiatek to seal a thrilling 2-1 win over Poland on Monday, sending Italy into the Billie Jean King Cup final for the second consecutive year.
Lucia Bronzetti put the Italians ahead with a 6-4, 7-6(3) singles win over Magda Linette but then Swiatek defeated Paolini 3-6, 6-4 in singles in a match that lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes. , beat 6-4 and gave Poland a draw.
Italian Olympic gold medalists Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini then faced Katarzyna Kawa and Inga Swiatek in the deciding doubles match. This fight continued till Tuesday morning.
The Polish pair put up a brilliant fight against Paris 2024 Olympic champions Errani and Paolini. The Italians saved three set points in the first set, and recovered from a 5–1 deficit in the second set, eventually winning 7–5, 7–5 and reaching the final for the seventh time and second consecutive year. Last year, Italy had to face defeat by Canada in the final.
“It was difficult, the intensity was very high, I was very tired but I had to give everything to my team and my country,” Paolini said after the match. “I was sad after losing to Iga in singles, but I went into the locker room and tried to stay positive because I knew my teammates needed me.”
Italy will face either Britain or Slovakia in Wednesday’s final, who will face each other in the other semi-final on Tuesday.
