NEW YORK — Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe are on the brink of clinching their second U.S. Open women’s doubles title.
The dynamic third-seeded duo staged a remarkable comeback on Tuesday, triumphing over the 11th seeds, Hungary’s Tímea Babos and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani, with scores of 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
In another quarterfinal match later that day, the wild-card journey for Canada’s Leylah Fernandez and American icon Venus Williams came to a close. Top seeds Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova from the Czech Republic dispatched Fernandez and Williams in a swift 57-minute match, winning 6-1, 6-2 on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Dabrowski and Routliffe, the reigning champions of the 2023 U.S. Open, steadied their nerves after a rocky start, swinging the momentum in their favor during the second set.
With the score tied at 4-4 in the second set, Dabrowski and Routliffe only lost one point—a forced error—as they took control. They clinched the set with a brilliant forehand winner, two unforced errors from their opponents, and a triumphant backhand volley.
In the final set, Dabrowski and Routliffe surged ahead to a 40-15 advantage, but Babos and Stefani fought back to deuce. However, back-to-back forced errors from the Hungarian-Brazilian pair ultimately handed victory to Dabrowski and Routliffe.
The Canadian-New Zealand tandem managed to convert two of their four break chances, while Babos and Stefani converted just three out of eight.
Next, they will face the winners of the quarterfinal clash between Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini and the pair of Asia Muhammad from the United States and the Netherlands’ Demi Schuurs.
Fernandez and Williams, competing together for the first time in doubles, encountered a seasoned team that exemplified why they’re ranked No. 1 globally.
Townsend and Siniakova wrapped up the match with two aces, 11 unforced errors, and a remarkable 74% first serve points won. They also dominated on returns, winning five of eight return games and stringing together 11 consecutive points at one point during the match.
In contrast, Fernandez and Williams did not register any aces, recorded 25 unforced errors, and had a first serve points won percentage of 61 with three double faults.
