Unlike the doubles final in Wuning, where they at least had sideline judges, the chair umpire at the final in Oliva had no help at all. Then again, being on a clay court, there would be marks for him to look at should there be any disputes. As it turned out, I don’t believe that he actually needed to check any at all. Just like in Wuning, each team had a right-hander and left-hander, the southpaw on the Spanish team being Luna Dinoto Fernandez.
It was her partner, though, Gabriela Paun, who got things underway, but I imagine she would have preferred anyone else to take on that task after being broken to love. It wasn’t even as if she hit a bunch of unforced errors, with Astrid Brune Olsen and Elyse Tse taking it in turns to hit winning forehand volleys.
Brune Olsen ensured that the top seeds would win the first eight points, the standout shot in that second game being a beautiful cross-court forehand volley from Tse that just caught the baseline. Paun hit a mirrored version of that shot, being right-handed, before Dinoto Fernandez got the Spaniards on the board when she finished her game with a beautiful backhand winner down the singles sideline.
Tse held as well after Brune Olsen had won a great rally with a beautiful forehand volley through the middle of the court. Paun’s second game was much better than her first, as she hit two beautiful forehand winners on the way to continuing the sequence of holds. Brune Olsen again didn’t drop a point as Tse helped matters along with three lovely winning volleys, and Dinoto Fernandez held to love as well.
Tse did lose one point, but that still left Paun serving to keep her team in the set. She started with the only ace in the match, sending it down the middle past Tse, who made up for that by winning the third point with a beautiful forehand return down the tramlines. A fabulous forehand return down the singles sideline took them to deuce, and a set point, and Tse’s second winning overhead volley in the game completed the set after 27 minutes.
Brune Olsen served first in the second set, where a beautiful cross-court forehand winner from Dinoto Fernandez and a fabulous forehand return through the right-hand side of the court from Paun created break points for the Spanish pair. Dinoto Fernandez was forced into a return error before Paun hit a backhand over the baseline to take them to deuce, and another great serve on the deciding point forced Paun to hit her inside-out backhand return long as well.
Dinoto Fernandez served next, but she had to watch Tse send a beautiful forehand return down the tramlines before hitting consecutive double faults to give away a full complement of break points. Paun saved the first with an inside-out backhand volley into the tramlines, but Dinoto Fernandez hit a cross-court forehand over the baseline to lose the second.
Tse was then forced into a backhand error to give away a break point of her own, which she saved with an unreturnable serve to Paun, but the latter smashed away a volley to win the deciding point and get the break straight back. She added a beautiful backhand winner down the tramlines on her own serve, but hit a cross-court forehand wide to keep the break points coming.
Brune Olsen lost the great short rally that came next by overhitting a cross-court backhand, but that rally was nothing when compared with the incredible 19 shot exchange on the deciding point. It was a shame that it ended with an unforced error when Paun hit a backhand volley over the baseline, but she made up for that error when taking Brune Olsen to deuce with a fabulous forehand winner down the tramlines to end another great rally. The Norwegian was then forced to hit a forehand into the net to lose the deciding point.
Four lost games in a row became five when another terrific forehand return down the tramlines from Tse ended Dinoto Fernandez’ next turn at the line, and the sequence of losses was finally ended when the New Zealander held to love after starting with a beautiful forehand winner down the right-hand tramline.
The top seeds were now just a game away from the title, so Paun had to hold to keep her team’s chances alive. It proved too tough a task, the only point she won being when she forced Tse to hit a cross-court backhand return into the net. Paun found the net with a backhand to give away three Championship points, and did the same again to lose the great rally on the first of those. The final score was 6-3, 6-2, and Tse’s third ITF doubles title had taken an hour and three minutes to collect.