In the final, they beat third seeds Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud with a 6-3, 5-7, 10-6 scoreline. Before reaching the final, the Italian pair knocked out the American pair of Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison in straight sets. In the on-court interview, then, Vavassori declared, “ We have been on a mission .”

Sara Errani stands at the baseline and exhales deeply. She is about to hit a second serve, with Italy up match point against Poland. A place in the Billie Jean King Cup final is at stake. So Errani does what she has done many,