Routliffe, Dabrowski finsh top of group at WTA Finals

No 2 seeds Erin Routliffe and Gaby Dabrowski have gone through the group stage undefeated at the season ending WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In their final group match on Thursday, Routliffe and Dabrowski defeated the all American team of Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 in 1 hour and 33 minutes.

As was the case in Routliffe and Dabrowski’s previous two matches, they got off to a slow start, dropping the first set to the No 5 seeds.

But they were able to bounce back with a much stronger second set, then edged through in the super tiebreak, with Dabrowski’s quality at the net standing out.

Routliffe and Dabrowski knew they had made it through to the semifinals before this match, while Dolehide and Krawczyk had already been eliminated, but both teams still gave it everything.

"The key was just chipping away, trying to problem-solve," said Dabrowski afterwards. 

"It was not easy, they brought a great level. Because we already knew we were into the next round but still really wanted to win this one, it's a dynamic we don't have often, but I love that about the round-robin format. 

“It was a match where we could express ourselves and improve parts of our game."

As the top team in the White Group, Routliffe and Dabrowski will play Nicole Melichar-Martinez from the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in the semifinals, as they finished second in the Green Group.