It was déjà vu for Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe in Melbourne as their Australian Open marketing campaign got here to an finish within the semifinals by the hands of Jelena Ostapenko for the second 12 months in a row. The Latvian and her accomplice Su-Wei Hsieh defeated the Canadian-Kiwi pair in three units on Friday.
Regardless of a fast begin and a fightback within the second set, Dabrowski and Routliffe have been unable to discover a answer to the damaging mixture of Ostapenko’s energy and Hsieh’s deft contact. The third-seeded Latvian-Taiwanese pair managed to edge out the second seeds 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3.
A 12 months in the past, Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok defeated Dabrowski and Routliffe at this identical stage. The loss on Friday snapped the Canadian-Kiwi crew’s nine-match successful streak that dated again to the WTA Finals final November.
A double fault from Ostapenko on the primary level set the tone for the early phases as Dabrowski and Routliffe broke the Latvian within the opening sport after which broke Hsieh to like the primary time she stepped as much as function the second seeds raced out to a 3-0 lead.
Nonetheless, regardless of some dominant web play from Dabrowski, Routliffe struggled on her personal serve within the opening set. In every of her first two service video games, she missed a swinging backhand volley at deuce to go down break level. The primary time round, Ostapenko ripped a return winner to get one of many breaks again.
Previous to the tenth sport, Dabrowski had been having essentially the most routine service video games and was the one of the 4 gamers but to drop serve. Nonetheless, serving out the set at 5-4 proved difficult for the Canadian. In a sport that lasted over 11 minutes, she and Routliffe did not convert three set factors and saved three breaks level earlier than lastly Ostapenko ripped a backhand winner down the road on the fourth likelihood to degree the set at 5-all.
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After a Dabrowski smash took the opening level of the tiebreak, Ostapenko took over, utilizing her large hitting to assert back-to-back factors on the Canadian’s serve and race out to a 4-1 lead. The third seeds by no means relinquished the benefit and wrapped up a protracted opening set with one other Ostapenko return winner.
The second set was far much less dramatic than the opener, with only a single break level making the distinction. On Hsieh’s serve at 2-3, a wild rally ended with the Taiwanese placing a backhand into the online to provide the Canadian-Kiwi crew a break level. Ostapenko smacked a backhand of her personal into the online to provide away the break.
That proved to be the one break level of your entire set for both crew and Dabrowski and Routliffe have been capable of experience it to the end line, solely dropping one level on their very own serve after breaking serve.
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Regardless of having levelled the match, Dabrowski and Routliffe have been unable to construct on their momentum early within the decider. Of their first service sport of the set, Ostapenko as soon as once more teed off on a return to arrange a double break level alternative on Routliffe’s serve and the Kiwi double-faulted handy the break and a 2-0 result in the third seeds.
That was sufficient for Hsieh and Ostapenko. They by no means trailed on their very own serve as soon as that they had the benefit and rode that one break by way of the deciding set and into the ultimate.
With Dabrowski’s defeat, no Canadians stay on the 2025 Australian Open. All the Canadians competing in singles misplaced within the first week. Leylah Annie Fernandez went out within the third spherical of the doubles, whereas Rob Shaw’s wheelchair marketing campaign got here to an finish on Thursday.
Tickets for the Davis Cup Qualifiers 1st Spherical tie between Canada and Hungary at the moment are on sale. Be part of us February 1 and a pair of at IGA Stadium in Montreal, because the Canadian crew begins their quest for the 2025 Davis Cup Closing 8. To entry tickets at early-bird pricing, click on right here.
