Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and her partner Erin Routliffe of New Zealand took down the American duo of Asia Muhammad and Alycia Parks on Friday to reach the final of the women’s doubles tournament at the Miami Open.
The Ottawa native Dabrowski and Routliffe, a dual citizen who was born in New Zealand and grew up in Caledon, Ont., were on the brink of being eliminated midway through the second set, but rallied to take the semifinal in three sets 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-4.
Comeback Complete ✅<br><br>Gabriela Dabrowski & <a href=”https://twitter.com/erinroutliffe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@erinroutliffe</a> defeat Muhammad & Parks 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-4 to reach the Miami doubles final.<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/MiamiOpen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#MiamiOpen</a> <a href=”https://t.co/hHt6K62ZfD”>pic.twitter.com/hHt6K62ZfD</a>
—@WTA
After dropping the opening set, Dabrowski and Routliffe found themselves down 4-2 in the second set, but won four straight games to even it at one set apiece.
The duo will now face Americans Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who beat Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the semifinals 6-7 (2), 6-4, 10-1.
Sunday’s match will be the first final Dabrowski and Routliffe have participated in since their win over Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara to take the Zhengzhou Open in China in October.
The pair have gone to six tournaments between the Zhengzhou Open and Miami Open, falling short in the semifinals three times.
Sinner dominates Medvedev to reach men’s final
Jannik Sinner is starting to dominate.
Sinner overwhelmed third-seeded Daniil Medvedev 6-1, 6-2 on Friday in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
The second-seeded Sinner, rock-solid with his firecracker forehand, became the first man to reach back-to-back Miami Open finals since John Isner (2018-2019). In last year’s Miami final, Medvedev prevailed over Sinner at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins.
He will play in the final Sunday against 11th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, who beat No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal.
Sinner’s match was a lot easier in the 80-degree South Florida heat as the Italian jumped to a 5-0 lead at the outset in posting two straight breaks of the Russian’s serve. It was over in 69 minutes.
“This year I have another chance,” Sinner said in the on-court interview. “I don’t think he played his best tennis and I tried to stay focused and in my rhythm.”
Jannik’s got that Florida feeling ☀️🏖️ <br><br>The moment <a href=”https://twitter.com/janniksin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@janniksin</a> reached his fourth ATP Masters 1000 final! <a href=”https://twitter.com/MiamiOpen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@MiamiOpen</a> | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/MiamiOpen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#MiamiOpen</a> <a href=”https://t.co/DlxbZpqXlw”>pic.twitter.com/DlxbZpqXlw</a>
—@atptour
In breaking Medvedev four times in the match, Sinner moved his 2024 record to 21-1; his only loss coming in the Indian Wells final to Carlos Alcaraz.
In the match’s second game, Sinner hit a cross-court forehand winner on a third break point for a 2-0 lead. Medvedev motioned a thumbs down at his player’s box.
Sinner broke Medvedev in the first game of the second set and was on his way. Late in the second set, down 5-1, Medvedev heard jeers and whistles when he appeared to frustratingly hit a ball back to a ball girl with extra zest.
Zverev entered his match with Dimitrov holding a 7-1 advantage in the head-to-head series. Dimitrov’s only victory against him before Friday night was in 2014.
Dimitrov beat No. 1 seed Alcaraz 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. The 20-year-old Spaniard said of Dimitrov afterward, “He played amazing tennis, almost perfect. I couldn’t find solutions.”
The women’s final is set for Saturday when American Danielle Collins faces No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina.