Routliffe and Kichenok fall in Berlin quarterfinals

Erin Routliffe and her Ukrainian partner Lyudmyla Kichenok were defeated 6-4 6-0 by Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls in the quarterfinals of the Berlin Open.

In the penultimate week before Wimbledon, Routliffe and Kichenok suffered the only break of serve in the opening set and then struggled to get going in the second.

The match lasted for 67 minutes and was the only match on Court One in the German capital, with the singles quarterfinals played on Steffi Graf Stadion.

Routliffe and Kichenok have teamed up for the past couple of weeks, while Routliffe’s regular partner Gaby Dabrowski recovers from an injury picked up in Strasbourg just before Roland Garros.

While Routliffe and Kichenok reached the semifinals at Queen’s, London last week, their journey ended one stop shorter this week, with the loss to the Slovakian and British pairing.