Erin Routliffe, Gaby Dabrowski beaten in Wimbledon doubles

RNZ News

a day ago

picture id="4K4JPZP_AFP__20250703__XxjpbeE007028_20250703_PEPFN0A001__v1__HighRes__SpBritainLondonTennis_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]
New Zealand tennis player Erin Routliffe and Canadian Gaby Dabrowski have been knocked out the women's doubles at Wimbledon.
The pair had been hoping to go one better than beaten finalists last year, but lost in the quarterfinals to Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens of Belgium, 7-5 7-6.
It was a tight match, lasting one hour 43 minutes, but Kudermetova and Mertens pulled out the big points when it counted.
The second seeds, Routliffe and Dabrowski took the second set to a tie-breaker but lost it 7-4 after being tied at 4-4.
The pair had excelled in tiebreakers in their third round match, winning both convincingly in their 7-6 7-6 victory over Russia's Irina Khromacheva and Hungary's Fanny Stollar.
They were beaten in last year's final by Czech Katerina Siniakova and American Taylor Townsend, who play their quarterfinal tomorrow.
Routliffe and Dabrowski have had an interrupted season
, with Dabrowski sidelined with a rib injury and Routliffe playing tournaments with other partners but with not a lot of success. They were knocked out of the first round of the French Open at Roland Garros by second seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won the 2023 US Open doubles title and in 2024 made the Australian Open semi-finals and the Wimbledon final.
They finished 2024 by winning the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
They reached the Australian Open semi-finals again this year and combined to win the Stuttgart Open.
In the women's singles, Aryna Sabalenka was dragged into a bygone era and tormented for almost three hours on Centre Court before finally imposing her 21st-century power game to beat mesmeric Laura Siegemund for a place in the semi-finals, Reuters reported.
The Belarusian needed all her powers of ball bludgeoning and belief to emerge from a befuddling battle, somehow the victor, 4-6 6-2 6-4.
For much of the spell-binding contest it looked as though the world number one would find no answers to Siegemund's sorcery as the 37-year-old German veteran chipped, chopped and drop-shotted the world's best player to pieces, leaving the top seed's power game neutered on the turf.
Ranked a lowly 104 in the world, Siegemund drew on the game of a gentler age to bring low the mighty Belarusian, casting spells of slice and sleight with vintage flair.
But slowly, if not exactly surely, the 10 years younger and seemingly stronger Sabalenka managed to wrestle back the upper hand, and now plays American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova, who beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, for a place in Sunday's final.
Anisimova collapsed flat on her face in sheer relief after she survived an astonishing and unexpected fightback from Pavlyuchenkova to secure a 6-1 7-6 (9) victory and reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time.
Anisimova was leading 6-1 5-2 when Pavlyuchenkova won three games on the trot, saving two match points in the process in the 10th game, including hitting a gutsy dropshot winner that completely caught Anisimova by surprise.
Anisimova somehow saved all five set points against her before finally sealing victory when Pavlyuchenkova netted a service return on her opponent's fourth match point.
Carlos Alcaraz is through to the semifinals.
Photo:
Photosport
Carlos Alcaraz had warned that facing Cameron Norrie could be a nightmare. For a fleeting moment on Wednesday, it looked like the defending Wimbledon champion might be in for a fright.
The Spaniard stumbled early, trailing 0-40 in his opening service game on Centre Court. Any chance of an upset, however, was swiftly dashed as Alcaraz roared to a commanding 6-2 6-3 6-3 quarter-final victory -- one that should send a shudder down the spine of anyone hoping to dethrone him, Reuters reported.
With hundreds of empty seats at the start -- fans still trickling back after Sabalenka's drawn-out quarter-final -- Alcaraz wasted no time asserting his dominance.
By the time the crowd returned to rally behind Britain's last remaining singles hope, the second seed had blazed through the first set in 28 minutes, dazzling with his trademark blend of power and flair.
Norrie, unseeded and unorthodox, did his best to resist. He even raised his arms in mock celebration after holding serve late in the third set.
But the outcome was never in doubt. Alcaraz, now on a 23-match winning streak, was simply too good.
Alcaraz's eighth Grand Slam semi-final will be against American Taylor Fritz but before he continues his quest for a third successive Wimbledon title he has two days off owing to the All England Club schedule.
He would probably prefer to get straight back on court, such is the momentum he is building. When asked how he would use the time, one wag in the crowd suggested he could return to the Ibiza, the Balearic party island where he let his hair down after his second successive French Open title last month.
A beaming Alcaraz said something more sedate would suffice.
"I might try to go to the city centre if I have time. I want to play some golf with my team which will be fun," he said.
"What I have been doing so far has worked so we will try to switch off together."
Fifth seed Fritz reached the semi-finals for the first time after coming through a topsy-turvy four-setter against Karen Khachanov where the American seemed to be cruising, but then had to show all his fighting spirit.
Fritz eventually triumphed 6-3 6-4 1-6 7-6 (4) but must have thought he was in for an easier passage as he ripped through the first two sets.
Russia's Khachanov, the 17th seed, also seeking a first Wimbledon semi, then won eight of the next nine games to take the third set and move a break up in the fourth.
Fritz, however, regrouped to immediately break back, regain control of his service, and triumph in the decisive tiebreak.
- RNZ Sport / Reuters