No. 7 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliff pulled off an upset on the first day of the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun, defeating No. 1 seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula 7-6 (2), 6-3 in group play. won. .
Dabrowski and Routliff, the reigning U.S. Open champions, fought back from a 4-1 deficit in the first set to win in an hour and 25 minutes. Dabrowski and Routliff began their partnership this summer and have won 13 of their past 16 games.
WTA Finals: Scores | Draws | Order of Play
Dabrowski and Routliff will start group play at the top of the Mahahual group with a 1-0 record, while Gauff and Pegula will start with an 0-1 record. The other teams in the Maafual group are fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, and sixth seeds Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva.
Americans Gauff and Pegula, who are both ranked No. 1 in the WTA doubles rankings, got off to a good start Sunday night, with Gauff stealing serve for the first set at 5-4.
However, Gauff’s double fault gave Canada’s Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Routliff the first break point of the day, which they converted to tie the set at 5-5.
Pegula saved three consecutive break points to stay at 6-5, but Routliff fought back with a hold to set up a tiebreaker. Routliff’s pinpoint net play took control at the breakers as she and Dabrowski scored the final four points in a row.
Dabrowski and Routliff built a commanding 5-1 lead in the second set, but Gauff and Pegula fought back to reach 5-3 and had three break points on Routliff’s serve. Nevertheless, Dombrowski and Routliff clinched the victory, with Dombrowski’s backhand clinching the win.
Earlier on Sunday, No. 3 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara defeated No. 5 seeds Desirae Klacik and Demi Schuels 7-5, 6-2 to advance to the WTA Finals.
In the opening match of the final championship of the 2023 season, the All-Japan pair won in 1 hour and 36 minutes. In the doubles match, Aoyama and Shibahara saved 10 of 12 break points.
In the Maya Ka’an group, Aoyama and Shibahara started the round robin with an early 1-0 lead, while Kracik and Schurs started 0-1. The Maya Kaan group also includes No. 2 seeds Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens, and No. 8 seeds Nicole Merichal Martinez and Ellen Perez.
In Sunday’s matchup, Shibahara’s strong return gave her team an early 3-1 lead, but two volley winners from Schuurs pulled her and Krawczyk back to 5-5 on serve. However, at 6-5, Aoyama and Shibahara reached set point on Schurs’ serve, and Aoyama scored with the deciding volley.
Deep returns by the Japanese duo, some landing squarely to the baseline, gave them a 4-1 advantage in the second set. At 5-2, both men broke serve again and Shibahara’s deft crosscourt winner sealed the victory.
Aoyama and Shibahara currently have a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head matches against America’s Kracik and Netherlands’ Schur, with all three matches scheduled this year. Aoyama and Shibahara also defeated Klacik and Schurs in this summer’s WTA1000 Montreal final.
