Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski and partner Erin Routliffe of New Zealand finished the women's doubles group stage at the WTA Finals with a perfect record after defeating the Czech duo of Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova 6-4, 7-5 on Friday. Routliffe, left, high fives Dabrowski, at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, in New York. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Manu Fernandez
CANCÚN, Mexico – Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and partner Erin Routliffe of New Zealand finished the women’s doubles group stage at the WTA Finals with a perfect record after defeating the Czech duo of Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova 6-4, 7-5 on Friday.
The reigning U.S. Open champions took one hour 34 minutes to defeat the reigning Olympic champions, who won this event in 2021.
Dabrowski picked up a crucial break with the second set tied 5-5 when she fired a backhand return down the line for a winner.
The Canadian served to love in the next game to seal the victory.
Dabrowski and Routliffe, who grew up in Ontario and used to represent Canada before switching allegiances to her native New Zealand, finished group play at 3-0 after opening with a win over top seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, then beating Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva in a U.S. Open final rematch.
After finishing atop the Mahahual Group, Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the second-place team in the Maya Ka’an Group in Saturday’s semifinals.
This report by The Canadian Press was first publishedNov. 3, 2023.
