Erin Routliffe, Jelena Ostapenko reach Charleston final

Erin Routliffe and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko have reached the final of the Charleston Open on the green clay in South Carolina.

In their semifinal on Saturday (Sunday NZ time), they defeated the American team of Hailey Baptiste and Caty McNally 6-2 5-7 10-6. 

Routliffe and Ostapenko held serve throughout the opening set but were broken twice in the second. For the second time in Charleston, their match came down to a super tiebreak and the No 1 seeds used their big match experience to get through it.

In the final they will play against the No 3 seeds, Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk, who are both from the States.

This is Routliffe’s first final since November when she and her regular partner, Gaby Dabrowski, won the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Regardless of how the final goes, Routliffe will stay at No 3 in the world rankings, but she has closed the gap to world No 2, Taylor Townsend.

Following the tournament, Routliffe will not travel to India for New Zealand’s Billie Jean King Cup tie in Pune, having opted out of the team this time.