Erin Routliffe into another WTA 1000 final

It’s a new partner but a similar result for Erin Routliffe at the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open.

In her semifinal match on Saturday (Sunday NZ time), Routliffe and Asia Muhammad defeated Britain’s Harriet Dart and Australia’s Ellen Perez 7-6(5) 6-3.

It was a match where both teams struggled to make the most of their opportunities, with Routliffe and America’s Muhammad converting just two of their nine break points, while Dart and Perez were one from seven.

This win means Routliffe will play in the final of a WTA 1000 for the fifth time in her career. She is still searching for her first title at this level, having lost three previous finals with her usual partner Gaby Dabrowski and one with Coco Gauff.

However, Michael Venus and Neal Skupski lost their quarterfinal in Cincinnati, going down 6-4 6-4 to Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos from Argentina.

Unusually for a doubles match at this level, there were four breaks of serve in the contest that lasted 78 minutes. However, unfortunately from a New Zealand and British point of view, three of them were against Venus and Skupski.

As Venus reached the final at Cincinnati with Jamie Murray last year, his ranking will take a hit and he’s expected to drop from No 11 to No 16 when they’re next updated.