Incredible comeback from Routliffe, Dabrowski puts them into US Open semis
Erin Routliffe and Gaby Dabrowski’s dream run at the US Open has continued with a superb 2-6 6-3 7-6 (8) win over the No 6 seeds Leylah Fernandez and Taylor Townsend in the quarterfinals.
In a match with many ebbs and flows, Routliffe and Dabrowski, who were the No 16 seeds, fought their way back from being down 7-2 in the 10-point tiebreaker at the end of the third set to win it 10-8.
It is the biggest victory of Routliffe’s career, but one where she and her Canadian partner had to dig deep several times to come through on Louis Armstrong Stadium, with the majority of the large crowd cheering on their opponents.
It is a history making win for Routliffe as by reaching the quarterfinals she goes one step further than Julie Richardson who lost in the quarterfinals at the US Open in 1993 and Marina Erakovic who also went that far in New York 2008.
Routliffe and Dabrowski won their first two matches in New York and were then given a walkover in the third round, due to the withdrawal of Marketa Vondrousova and Barbora Strycova.
Vondrousova was in tears and had ice on her elbow when she decided to pull out of the doubles after her singles win over Peyton Stearns on Monday.
While it was particularly disappointing for Strycova, who is playing in her last ever tournament, it gave Routliffe a pass to the second grand slam quarterfinal of her career.
The first set was tight at the beginning, with one break of serve to each team. But Townsend and Fernandez’s aggressive style then began to pay off as from 2-2 they won four straight games for the opening set.
Dabrowski was broken in the opening game of the second set as it all started to look a bit to easy for Townsend, but that was the wake up call for Routliffe and Dabrowski as they became the more aggressive team on court, not only getting the break back but also playing some of the best tennis during this fortnight.
With the Novak Djokovic v Taylor Fritz match finishing on Arthur Ashe Stadium more spectators made the short walk over to Louis Armstrong Court to swell the numbers watching this match.
Routliffe and Dabrowski’s march through the second set continued, with the latter sending down an ace on set point.
The Kiwi/Canadian team went out to a 4-1 lead in the deciding set, but Dabrowski was broken in the next game and so too was Routliffe two games later as the set ended up going to a super tiebreak.
Spurred on by the now huge crowd, Townsend and Fernandez got out to a 7-2 lead and that looked to be the end of it.
But then Townsend, who had been rock solid during the match served two double faults to allow Routliffe and Townsend to get back in it and from their first match point Routliffe hit a winner at the net.
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