Routliffe through to another WTA doubles final

Saturday, 12 February 2022

New Zealand doubles player Erin Routliffe and her Polish partner Alicja Rosolska have turned in a terrific performance to reach the final at the WTA 500 tournament in St Petersburg in Russia.

Routliffe and Rosolska have beaten Russians Natela Dzalamidze and Alexandra Panova 7-5 6-4 in their semi-final.

The Kiwi and Polish player were the more ruthless pair converting four from four break point chances while their Russian opponents managed just two breaks from 12 looks.

" Yeah, really, close. I've played both of them a couple times separately, not as a team. So I knew it was going to be tough. And I knew that we had to come out and play well, in order to get the win. We were down a couple of set points in the first when I was serving at 4-5. So it could have gone either way. I think we played the big points well but it was a really close match." Routliffe said.

Routliffe and Rosolska will play Russian Anna Kalinskaya and American Caty McNally for the title.

" I haven't played Katie, have seen her play a couple times. But I don't really think I know much. And Kalinskaya I've played her a few times, maybe twice, I think, So they're obviously a very good team. They're confident they're swinging big. You know, playing Russians in Russia is always difficult. We're just excited for the opportunity." Routliffe said

The Kiwi has won one WTA Tour title in Palermo last year. By making the final in St Petersburg the 26-year-old is projected to climb to another career high ranking of 39. A win tomorrow would lift her to around 30 in the WTA doubles rankings.