ROME -- Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani won gold for Italy in stunning fashion in the final of the women’s tennis doubles, adding more medals to the Azzurri tally over a weekend of action in Paris.

 The Italians had to battle back from a set down against opponents Mirra Andreeva and Diana Schnaider but dominated the second set to win 6-1, before sealing gold with a 10-7 tie-break triumph.

 Paolini and Errani had looked nervous in the first set and slipped behind 5-2 after a series of error-strewn games. Italian fortune was not helped when the experienced Errani took a lengthy medical time out towards the end of the set after appearing to be struggling with an injury to her thigh.

 But the tables turned in the second set as the Italians played fearlessly and exploited errors from their opponents to comfortably see out the set 6-1.

 The tie-break to decide the medal positions was played with intensity and remained tight, with the Azzurre leading narrowly at 8-7. But after a stunning point won by the Italians – started by an Errani underarm serve – Paolini and Errani took a 9-7 lead. The gold medal was eventually secured when, at the climax of the battling tie-break, Andreeva planted Paolini’s cross-court shot into the net.

 Speaking after the match, the Italian pair admitted they had to battle back in a testing encounter. “We started the first set really badly,” Errani said, “but then we got back into it and somehow we came out on top. It was tough.”

 Paolini, who lost in this year’s Wimbledon final, admitted she “was struggling” during the first set, but described the gold medal win as “a unique feeling”.

 The tennis triumph was Italy’s second gold of the weekend after, on Day Eight, Marta Maggetti won gold in the women’s windsurfing. In the inaugural racing final at the Olympics, Maggetti took on Israel’s Sharon Kantor and Team GB’s Emma Wilson. The Italian had to come from behind in the race but sailed brilliantly to win Italy’s first gold in a sailing event since 2000.

 “When I realised I’d brought home a medal, I burst into tears,” Maggetti said after the race. “The ghosts of Tokyo, when I finished in fourth, had been banished. Luckily I was able to pick myself up quickly and manage this final with as much concentration as possible.”

 There were more Italian celebrations on Day Nine as Gregorio Paltrinieri won silver in the men’s 1500 metre freestyle. Paltrinieri, just as in the men’s 800 metre freestyle, was competing with American Bobby Finke and Team Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen at the La Défense Arena. But Finke came out on top, leaving the Italian second in the standings.

 Paltrinieri had swam valiantly to keep in tow with his American counterpart and was just 0.54 seconds behind gold medallist Finke at the 800 metre mark. But the Italian could not keep the pace and, going into the final 100 metres, let Finke slip from his grasp.

 Paltrinieri eventually finished just under 4 seconds behind Finke, but comfortably ahead of Daniel Wiffen in the bronze medal position.

 There was another silver for Italy in the final of the men’s team foil at the Grand Palais. Tommaso Marini, Guillaume Bianchi, Filippo Macchi, and Alessio Foconi were beaten 45-36 by the Japanese team, ranked number one in the world.

 Earlier in the weekend, on Day Eight, Lorenzo Musetti brought his brilliant Olympic run in the men’s tennis singles to an end by winning bronze. The Tuscan beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, as the 22-year-old won Italy’s first Olympic medal in a men’s tennis event since Uberto De Morpurgo a century ago.

 There was disappointment elsewhere as Marcell Jacobs was unable to defend his crown in the men’s 100 metres. Despite recording his season best time of 9.85 seconds, Jacobs could not do enough to secure a place on the podium and ended the race, won by USA’s Noah Lyles in a photo finish, in fifth place.

 Asides from Italy’s medal triumphs, there is concern after high-jump reigning champion Gianmarco Tamberi was hospitalised with a suspected kidney stone problem. The Tokyo 2020 gold medallist and Italian flagbearer now faces a race against time to be fit for his event’s qualifying rounds, which start on Wednesday.

 After the weekend’s medal exploits, Italy ended Day Nine in eighth place in the medal table, with seven gold medals and 22 overall.

 bq