Olivia Nicholls wins biggest title of her career in Berlin
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British doubles No.1 Olivia Nicholls is a WTA 500 champion for the first time – lifting the Berlin Open title alongside Tereza Mihalikova.
Nicholls and Mihalikova defeated top seeds and recent Roland Garros champions Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini 4-6, 6-2, 10-6 in an hour and 28 minutes to seal their first WTA title together.
After losing the opening set, Nicholls and Mihalikova broke the Olympic gold medallists on all four of their service games in the second to force a match tie-break.
With the title on the line and locked at 6-6 in the tie-break, the British, Slovakian duo won the final four points in a row to seal a breakthrough victory.
The unseeded duo also knocked out second seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Erin Routliffe, as well as fourth seeds Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs en-route to the final as well.
The 30-year-old British star now has three tour-level titles to her name, adding to her previous victories in Austin and Granby. They also reached their first WTA 1000 final in Indian Wells back in March.
The victory will see Nicholls rise to a new career-high ranking on Monday – currently at world No.23 in the live rankings.
Nicholls and Mihalikova will move up to sixth in the doubles race for the WTA Finals this year, which at the end of the season would qualify them for the Finals in Riyadh.
