Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe defeated Guo Hanyu and Alexandra Panova 6-4, 6-3 in the Cincinnati Open women’s doubles final to claim their first WTA 1000 title as partners.
Dabrowski and Routliffe first paired up in Montreal two years ago. Since then, they they had won five titles, including the US Open and the WTA Finals, and reached career-high rankings.
Cincinnati triumph is their second title of the season and sixth overall as partners. Following the victory, Routliffe will remain at No. 7 in the WTA Doubles Rankings, while Dabrowski is set to move up five spots to No. 8.
For Routliffe, it’s her second straight title in Cincinnati after winning last year with Asia Muhammad. Both of her WTA 1000 titles have come at this event.
For Dabrowski, it’s her fifth career WTA 1000 doubles title for Dabrowski, and first since the 2022 Madrid Open.
In the men’s doubles, Nikola Mektic and Rajeev Ram completed a dream run at the Cincinnati Open when they held their nerve to defeat Lorenzo Musetti and Lorenzo Sonego in the final to secure their maiden Masters 1000 title as a pair.
Playing their first tour-level final together in just their third event of the year, Mektic and Ram staged a comeback to edge the all-Italian pair 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 in a 90-minute clash to win their first trophy as a team.
By reaching the final, Mektic joined Rohan Bopanna and Mate Pavic as the only active doubles players to reach finals of all nine ATP Masters 1000 events. With the win, he earned his 11th Masters 1000 crown, the most among active players.
At 41 years and 4 months, Ram became the second-oldest men’s doubles champion in Cincinnati in the Open Era, after 42-year-old Daniel Nestor, who triumphed in 2015 with Edouard Roger-Vasselin, according to ATP stats.
Swiatek downs Rybakina to reach maiden Cincinnati final
Third seed Iga Swiatek beat Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to reach her first Cincinnati Open final.
lena Rybakina (KAZ) during the Cincinnati Open. | Photo Credit: Aaron Doster/Reuters
Third seed Iga Swiatek beat Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to reach her first Cincinnati Open final.
The Pole had her hands full in the early stages of the 98-minute match but took advantage of a sudden dip in Rybakina’s form to win four consecutive games and wrap up the first set before easing through the second.
“That was a tough match. At the beginning the level was pretty crazy, we played so fast that sometimes we couldn’t even run to the second ball because we played so fast,” Swiatek said during her on-court interview.
“But I was there to play with intensity and good quality and I am super happy with the performance. I served much better so for sure it helped and I wouldn’t change anything.”
Ninth seed Rybakina used a cross-court forehand that caught the line for a break and then held for a 5-3 lead in the first set but a laser-focused Swiatek came back from the precipice and attacked the Kazakh’s serve to draw level at 5-5.
From there, the Wimbledon champion held serve before wrapping up the opener when she broke for a second time after a Rybakina backhand attempt came up well short.
Rybakina, who enjoyed a swift victory over world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round, was broken for a third time early in the second set after a backhand error put Swiatek ahead 3-1.
Swiatek faced some push-back from Rybakina three games later but dug deep to recover from 15-40 down to protect her serve and reach 5-2 before wrapping it up on serve when Rybakina sent a forehand return long.
Swiatek will now face seventh-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini, who held on to beat Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3.
Paolini, a two-time Grand Slam finalist in 2024 who beat second-ranked Coco Gauff in the Cincy quarter-finals, is chasing a second WTA 1000 level title this year after a triumph in Rome in May.
She’ll face a tough task in taking down Swiatek, who has won all five of their prior encounters.