Erin Routliffe Claims Maiden WTA 1000 Title

Erin Routliffe has added winning a WTA 1000 title to her list of illustrious achievements.

The world No 1 and current US Open champion has won the Cincinnati Open with Asia Muhammad, defeating Leylah Fernandez from Canada and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putinseva in the final.

It was another epic match for Routliffe and her American partner, winning it 3-6 6-1 10-4 in one hour, 20 minutes on Sunday (Monday NZ time).

Both teams struggled to convert break points, with Routliffe and Muhammad winning just two of the 12 they had, while Fernandez and Putinseva were one from 10.

However, the key to this victory for Routliffe and Muhammad was their ability to come through on the sudden-death deuce points, which are such a crucial part of doubles matches on the WTA circuit.

Routliffe and Muhammad won six of the eight deciding points, which kept them in a final that was decided by small margins.

But just getting to the final seemed a long shot for Routliffe and Muhammad as they had to save a match point against them in their quarterfinal clash against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani.

However, they came through that tight moment and won the following two matches to lift the silverware in a final that finished after 11pm local time.

This was Routliffe’s fifth appearance in a WTA 1000 final and on the previous four occasions she finished runner-up, three times with her regular partner Gaby Dabrowski and once with Coco Gauff, at the Italian Open.

This title extends Routliffe’s points lead over everyone else at the top of the world rankings, as she’ll be on 9550 points when they’re next updated, while the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova, who lost in the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, will be on 8470 and this further enhances Routliffe's chances of ending the year at No 1.

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