Run ends in quarters for Erin Routliffe at Wimbledon

Erin Routliffe’s time at Wimbledon has come to an end. She and Alicja Rosolska have lost 6-1 6-7 6-3 to the American’s Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk in the ladies doubles quarterfinals.

The match , which lasted just over two hours, was played on No 2 court, the third biggest at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and the crowd build over what proved to be an engrossing match.

The scoreboard at the end had a lopsided look about it as the American team got out to a quick start.

Rosolska was broken to love in the fourth game and Routliffe suffered the same fate later in the set, with it being wrapped up in just 24 minutes.

In the third game of the second set Rosolska fell behind 0-40 and although she and Routliffe won the next two points, the Pole then double faulted. But Krawczyk was broken in the next in the next game.

However, the next time Rosolska served there were two more double faults from her and she and Routliffe now found themselves down two games away from defeat.

There was a strong hold from Routliffe two games later and in the next one Collins was broken when serving for the match, blasting long a forehand on the final point.

The second set tiebreak was tight, but Collins lost two points on her serve at the end of it, which made the match one set all.

But the Americans got up 4-1 in the deciding set, with a break coming on Rosolska’s serve and this time they were able to keep that lead all the way to the end.

“It was a tough match, they were very good at tennis,” Routliffe reflected. 

“I think we had opportunities and it was a good effort to fight back in the second.

Despite the disappointment at the loss, reaching the quarterfinals is the best achievement yet by Routliffe at at grand slam and she’s happy with how the tournament went for her and Rosolska.

“It was a really good two weeks for us as a team, we won some big matches, had some big moments,” Routliffe said. 

“I’d never made quarterfinals of a slam before, so it was a positive move in the right direction. I’m hungry for more and I think she is too.”

After a short rest, Routliffe will next play in the States, in the hardcourt tournaments before the US Open.

“It’s time for a break for me,” she said. 

“I’ve been going for a while so I’m going to need to relax for a bit. I’ll have to look at flights and I’m sure I’ll head out as soon as I can.

“My next tournament will be in the first week of August, I don’t know how much time I’ll take off the tennis court. I’ll just be training, I’m not going to play anything else in Europe, I think I’m ready for a break and I deserve it.”