Disappointment for Routliffe in Russia

New Zealand doubles player Erin Routliffe and her American partner Kaitlyn Christian have been beaten in the first round of the WTA tournament in Moscow, the Kremlin Cup.

They’ve lost to Russians Anastasia Potapova and Anna Kalinskaya 6-4, 6-0 in 58 minutes. There was just the one service break in the first set coming in the opening game and the Russian pair were able to save all five break points against their serve. But the second set as shown by the score line was one way traffic as the Russians combination dropped just five points in the set to complete an easy win.

Routliffe and Christian now head to next week’s Transylvannia Open in Romania.

Meanwhile Marcus Daniell and Brazilian partner Marcelo Demoliner play their first-round doubles match at the Kremlin Cup tonight against Uruguay’s Ariel Behar and Ecuador’s Gonzalo Escobar in Moscow overnight.