Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls go down fighting on French Open debut after three-set battle at Roland Garros
Alicia Barnett’s French Open debut ended in a first-round defeat on Wednesday but only after a near three-hour battle from the Team Bath Tennis player and women’s doubles partner Olivia Nicholls at Roland Garros.
The British duo, appearing at their fourth Grand Slam in 11 months, narrowly lost a first-set tie-break to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini and Martina Trevisan but stormed back brilliantly to win the second set 6-1.
An absorbing third set saw Barnett and Nicholls recover from an early break to level at 4-4 before Paolini and Trevisan won the last two games, saving a break point, to edge the match 7-6(5) 1-6 6-4 after two hours and 39 minutes of terrific tennis on Court 11.
Olivia Nicholls & Lissey Barnett just lose out on their @rolandgarros debut after a tight battle #BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/R9oxFBOhgo
— LTA (@the_LTA) May 31, 2023
A first set full of momentum swings established the tone, with Barnett and Nicholls being broke in their second and third service games but responding immediately on both occasions.
An epic 11th game lasting almost nine minutes went to deuce four times and saw the Brits save a break point before eventually going 6-5 up. Paolini and Trevisan took the set to a tie-break, though, and a double fault on set point ensured the Italians came out on top 7-5.
Barnett – coached by Ian MacDonald at the Team Bath Sports Training Village – and Nicholls quickly put that disappointment behind them as they broke to love in the opening game of the second set. They went on to break twice more during a dominant spell and win 6-1 to take the match to a decisive third set.
It was Paolini and Trevisan’s turn to break to love in the opening game and regain the initiative but Barnett and Nicolls hit back in the eighth game, converting their third break point to level at 4-4.
However, the Italians broke again and then saved a break point in their last service game to finally see off the battling Brits, who will now turn their attention to the grass-court season and Wimbledon.
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