By Glenys Furness
- Alicia Barnett & Olivia Nicholls take the title in Israel without dropping a set
- Take out top seeds en route to the final
RAMAT HASHARON, ISRAEL – Alicia Barnett & Olivia Nicholls take the ITF 15K doubles title without dropping a set.
Alicia Barnett & Olivia Nicholls were unseeded entering the ITF event in Israel. In the first round their opponents were the fourth seeds Madeleine Kobelt & Linnéa Malmqvist. The Brits managed to get the break in the first set and held on for the lead. The second set saw the American/Swedish team fail to make an impact on the game of Barnett & Nicholls. The Brits secured the place in the next round 6-4, 6-3.
The quarter-final saw the Brits against Gozal Ainitdinova & Anna Pribylova. The Kazakh/Russian pairing failed to break Barnett & Nicholls and soon had lost the first set after being broken twice. The Brits were on a roll now, and Ainitdinova & Pribylova had nothing to phase them. The Brits moved into the semi-final in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.
In the semi-final Barnett & Nicholls found themselves against the top seeds Ching-Wen Hsu & Anastasia Pribylova. The first set was the toughest they had to date, with the Taiwan/Russian pairing fighting hard and forcing a tiebreak. In the breaker the Brits dominated and sealed the set.
The second set proved to be much easier for Barnett & Nicholls against the tops seeds, as the Brits got a handle on the Hsu/Pribylova serve and secured the necessary break. Once again the Brits have proven too strong for their challengers and taken the match in straight sets 7-6(2), 6-3.
In the final Barnett & Nicholls faced Charlotte Römer & Caroline Werner. The Brits managed to figure out the game of the Ecuadorian/German in the first set and secured the break needed for the lead. In the second set Römer & Werner mounted a fightback, taking the Brits to a tiebreak. The Ecuadorian/German forced Barnett & Nicholls to step things up, and the Brits took the breaker to win the title 6-4, 7-6(4).
Doubles Round Up
Dom Inglot & Neal Skupski lost in the first round of Irving Challenger, the Brits won the first set 6-3, then lost the next 6-1, 10-8.
Liam Broady with Ruan Roelofse lost in quarter-final of Drummondville 6-3, 7-5.
Luke Bambridge & Joe Salisbury lost in the first round of Drummondville, the second seeds won the first set 7-5, then lost the next 6-4, 10-8.
Billy Harris with Maciej Rajski lost in the semi-final of Santa Margherita Di Pula 6-1, 7-5.
Aidan McHugh with Jakub Paul lost in the quarter-final of Egypt 6-4, 6-1.
Freya Christie with Albina Khabibulina lost in the final of Gwalior, losing the first set 6-3, winning the next 6-2 but then losing the Match tiebreak 10-5.
Laura Robson with Fanni Stollár won their first round match in Toyota, but then Laura had to withdraw so handed a walkover to their opponents in the quarter-final.
Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares lost in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells to Sam Querrey and Gilles Muller 7-5, 6-7(4), 10-2.
Next week Brits play in Lille, Miami, California, Italy, Portugal, Bahrain, Greece, Israel, Turkey & Australia
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