Paris Olympics: Paolini, Errani Claim Historic Gold With Impressive Comeback Win

Having lost the doubles final at the French Open in June, Paolini and Errani dug deep to win 2-6 6-1 10-7 on Court Philippe-Chatrier in one hour and 25 minutes to earn Italy's first Games gold medal in tennis.

Russia-born pair Andreeva and Shnaider – competing for the Individual Neutral Athletes – made a perfect start, with a three-game winning run in the first half putting them out of the Italians' reach.

Paolini and Errani successfully defended two break points to make it 4-2 and end that run, but they lost their serve to love in the final game to fall behind.

However, the Italian pair rallied brilliantly in the second set, earning a break in the first game to set the tone.

Andreeva and Shnaider managed to claw a game back to make it 2-1, but their opponents quickly shut down any hopes of a comeback.

The Italians won each of the next four games, holding their nerve at the end to get a third break of the set and force a tie-break.

Paolini and Errani remained in control for the decider, earning two more breaks as they stormed to a historic gold medal.

Data Debrief: Italians get the job done with historic gold

After coming agonisingly close at the French Open two months ago, Paolini and Errani finally got their hands on a big win.

Not only was it the first-ever gold medal for Italy in any of the tennis events at the Olympics, but?the first medal of any colour for Italian women.

Errani has also completed the career golden slam in women's doubles, having won all four major?titles in the paired grand slam competitions between 2012 and 2014, alongside Roberta Vinci.?