The doubles rivalry between Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini against Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider delivered another enthralling contest in the Qatar TotalEnergies Open semifinals, with the Italian duo saving three match points to win 4-6, 7-6(2), [11-9] in 1 hour and 44 minutes.

Doha: Draws | Scores | Order of Play

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The two pairs first met in last year's Paris Olympic Games final, which Errani and Paolini also edged in a super-tiebreak. That had been the first time Andreeva and Shnaider had paired up, though, and since committing to a regular partnership the youngsters have quickly established themselves at the top of the doubles game. They won their third tournament together, in Brisbane in January, and demonstrated their improvement by upsetting Errani and Paolini in the second round of the Australian Open en route to the semifinals.

Andreeva and Shnaider picked up where they left off in Australia, with both players delivering rock-solid net play in the first set. Winning volleys from both sealed a break of Paolini's serve in the second game, and Andreeva pulled off another excellent high angled backhand volley to seal a 4-1 lead. Even when Shnaider was unable to serve out the set as the No. 3 seeds raised their game, they bounced back in style to break Paolini again, with Andreeva nailing a drive volley through the middle on their fourth set point.

But with Andreeva and Shnaider seemingly cruising at 4-1 in the second set, Errani and Paolini used all of their experience to steadily chip away at the lead. They broke back courtesy of some errant Shnaider forehands, but the unseeded pair raised their game again as the quality of the rallies rose. Andreeva landed a forehand return winner to break Errani for 5-3, then set up her pair's first match point with a terrific pass down the line.

But Shnaider netted a volley putaway -- and momentum flipped towards Errani and Paolini at last. Errani in particular was suddenly flawless at net, swarming the forecourt at every opportunity to put away volleys of every sort. TheOlympic gold medallists dominated the ensuing tiebreak to force a super-tiebreak.

It was a nail-biter as both teams raised their level even higher. Andreeva and Shnaider were the first to gain a two-point lead, edging out to 9-7. But Paolini hammered a forehand pass to save the second match point, and Errani went straight at Shnaider on the next. Two more superb Errani volley winners sealed her team's place in their eighth final together.

Errani and Paolini have won both of their previous WTA 1000 finals, in Rome and Beijing last year. They will bid for a third trophy at this level against the unseeded pair of Jiang Xinyu and Wu Fang-Hsien, who came through 6-2, 6-3 against Beatriz Haddad Maia and Laura Siegemund to continue their strong start to 2025.

China's Jiang and Chinese Taipei's Wu opened the season with an eight-match winning streak to capture their first two titles as a team in Auckland and Hobart. This will be a fourth final for the pair together, and a first at WTA 1000 level for either.