The day was particularly tense for the two finalists-to-be as each of them had to resort to two tie-breaker resolutions to make their way to the women’s championship match.
First, USA’s Massey & Davis came back from a set down to mount a 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 15-9) quarterfinal victory over Belgium’s Ines Piret & Annelore Bex. Then, they had to do it again in the semifinals, against American compatriots Perez & Wood, to claim a 2-1 (12-21, 21-19, 15-5) win.
“I think this game was definitely better and we both said we were going to leave it all out there and be aggressive with our offense, and it worked,” Lily Davis said. “We lost the first set as there were nerves and it was a big game. The biggest thing for the whole turnaround was that we were staying together. It was like our closest friend was our teammate and we truly had come together and decided how we were going to end this. I believe we have a very strong relationship and partnership that can get us through any game.”
Davis & Massey’s opponents in Sunday’s showdown, Spain’s Izuzquiza & Carro, also started the day with a turnaround in their quarterfinal against Switzerland’s Muriel Bossart & Livia Stolz. The Spaniards progressed to the semis after a 2-1 (15-21, 21-15, 15-11) comeback. In the duel for a spot in the final, Izuzquiza & Carro met Thailand’s Varagkhana & Somruedee. This time, they won the first set, but still got pushed to three before emerging with a 2-1 (21-14, 13-21, 15-10) victory.
