Erin Routliffe and Gaby Dabrowski’s US Open title defence is over as they have lost their quarterfinal at the US Open in the women’s doubles.
The pair lost a thrilling three-set match against 10th-seeded Veronika Kudermetova and Chan Hao-Ching on the Grandstand court 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Routliffe is ranked No1 in the world in women’s doubles and was the top seed with Dabrowski after they won their maiden Grand Slam title at the tournament last year.
This result means means Routliffe will lose her No1 ranking to Katerina Siniakova who has made it to the semifinals.
The pair lost their quarterfinal against the tournaments 10th-seeds (Source: TVNZ)
The duo had a fast start as they went 3-0 up in the first set, breaking their opponents twice.
They then dropped two games in a row but held on to claim the first set 6-4.
The second set proved to be both mentally and physically draining for the defending champions as they again led early going up 3-1, but dropped off to let their opponents back in and lead 5-4.
Routliffe and Dabrowski made five double faults in the second set alone and signs of frustration started showing.
Routliffe double-faulted to give Kudermetova and Chan set point which they took to make it tied at 1-1. Their opponents came twice from a break down to win the second set.
The third set started in similar fashion to the second, with Routliffe and Dabrowski leading 3-1 but failing to capitalise on their lead.
However, the pair were once again broken on their serve to make it 3-3. Kudermetova and Chan used this momentum to run out to a lead of 5-3 and the match was all but over.
Kudermetova and Chan won 10 points in a row late in the third set and sealed victory with a powerful volley by Chan at the net to knock out the No1 seeds. The match lasted two hours and 23 minutes.
Routliffe and Dabrowski were their own worst enemies as they made 45 unforced errors in the match compared to their opponents' 29.
The loss concludes Routliffe’s 2024 campaign at Flushing Meadows as she lost in the first round of her mixed doubles match with fellow Kiwi Michael Venus last Friday.
Venus was also knocked out of the US Open in his quarterfinal with British partner Neal Skupski. They went down 7-6, 6-1 against fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.
The US Open is available live and free on TVNZ+
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