Dabrowski/Routliffe to face Siniakova/Townsend for Riyadh doubles title

No.2 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe will face No.8 seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend for the title at the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF after both teams won their semifinal matches on Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe advanced to their sixth final of 2024 with a 7-6(7), 6-1 defeat of No.6 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez, last year's finalists, in 1 hour and 32 minutes, before Siniakova and Townsend closed the night by denying No.7 seeds Chan Hao-ching and Veronika Kudermetova another Houdini act with a 6-0, 7-6(5) win.

WTA Finals Riyadh: Scores | Schedule | Standings

Wimbledon champions Siniakova and Townsend looked as though they were on course for an easy victory as they raced out to a lead of 6-0, 4-2 in under an hour at King Saud University. But then things turned into a "roller coaster," as described by the World No.1 herself.

The team needed seven match points to eventually finish off victory, and in between, denied Chan and Kudermetova -- who saved match points in the group stage win against Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini to clinch their semifinal spot -- an opportunity to sent the match the distance by breaking serve in the 10th game.

"When you win a 6-0 set, it's never easy. We were playing so well and sometimes it's easy to have expectations to continue that, but your opponents adjust and we saw how that ended up," Townsend added.

"More than anything, we held each other up in the times when one was down, the other one was up and vice versa, and then we had our moments where we both came together. I'm super proud of us as a team."

Dabrowski and Routliffe beat last year's finalists: The first semifinal's result was a reverse of the teams' only previous meeting at the same stage of the 2023 WTA Finals Cancun, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won 6-1, 6-7(1), [10-6].

Twelve months on, Dabrowski and Routliffe came from an early break down and saved one set point in the first set to reach their first final at the year-end championships.

"We've been in the WTA Finals a bunch of times, but semifinals was my best result with Erin last year in Cancun," said Dabrowski afterwards. "So to go one round further is super exciting. In the later part of my career as well, it's really special. To do it together, with the vibe we've got, is really amazing."

An edgy start to the contest saw four breaks of serve -- one for each player on court -- in the first five games, with Perez coughing up three double faults in her opening service game. Both teams steadied themselves in the latter half, and a series of excellent volleys by Perez saw the American-Australian duo take a 5-3 lead in the tiebreak. But Routliffe retrieved the mini-break with a ferocious return, and her team fended off one set point as Melichar-Martinez sent a backhand wide. Routliffe sealed her second set point with a terrific reflexed forehand winner.

From there, the Canadian-New Zealander pair motored through the second set, breaking Melichar-Martinez twice as they began unleashing on return.

"I had a little bit of a slow start and Erin started really well," said Dabrowski. "But she stood by me, and that enabled me to still have the freedom as the match went on to go for my shots and my serves and my plays. That helped me stay very present. Some of it is confidence, some of it is communication, but overall just a strong partnership was the key."

Routliffe agreed, and underlined the importance of mutual support in the doubles game at any level.

"We always try to bring the best out of each other," she said. "We always try to smile and have fun, even when it's not going out way. It's so important in doubles. If anyone's playing doubles, make sure you support your partners!"