Routliffe and Venus kick off campaigns in Melbourne
Erin Routliffe is the first of the New Zealanders on court this afternoon in her first round doubles match at the Australian Open.
The 26 year old teams with Canadian Leylah Fernandez against the Australian wild card pair of Lizette Cabrera and Priscilla Hon their match is second on court and expected to get underway between 2-30 and 3pm NZT.
The match will be followed by 6th seeds Michael Venus and Tim Puetz against Americans Nick Monroe and Frances Tiafoe.
And Venus and Routliffe have been confirmed as mixed doubles partners for the Open with the draw now released. They will play Aussies Priscilla Hon and Alex Bolt, one of eight wildcard pairs.
Ironically they could face Venus’s partner Tim Puetz and Routliffe’s former partner Alexa Guarachi in the second round.