The hyped men’s singles Gold Medal match will not be the last tennis encounter we get to witness at the Paris Olympics. Not long after that and the trophy ceremony, Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini will take the court against Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider in the Women’s Doubles Gold Medal Match. We already know that Spain earned the Bronze Medal in women’s doubles, but who will take the Gold?
Paris Olympics Women’s Doubles Gold Medal Match Prediction
Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini (Italy) vs Mirra Andreeva/Diana Shnaider (Neutral)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini have been playing with each other most of the year, producing great results on clay with a WTA 1000 title in Rome and making the final at Roland Garros. Therefore, they had to be perceived as one of the favorites going into the Olympic event. In four matches, only the French home crowd favorites Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry got anywhere close to eliminating them, eventually losing 7-5 3-6 [8-10] with the Italians dominating all their other matches.
Who could have expected that Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider would hit it off so well? Neither player is known for her doubles skills, but the two youngsters survived a messy opener against Australians Olivia Gadecki/Alja Tomljanovic and suddenly started defeating quality duos left and right. The win that made the biggest impression was their defeat of defending champions from Czechia Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova. And it’s not like the follow-up was any worse with just three games lost to Spaniards Cristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Is this where the lack of experience of Andreeva/Shnaider comes out a bit? Perhaps, especially facing someone as experienced as Errani who’s won almost everything possible in the doubles game. Almost is the keyword as this is the one massive title missing from her trophy cabinet. But if Paolini can back her up (and she should given all the big stage opportunities she had this year), the Italians remain the favorites to bring the Gold Medal home after Lorenzo Musetti took the Bronze in men’s singles yesterday.
Prediction: Errani/Paolini in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
