Routliffe, Azarenka lose to No 2 seeds at Roland Garros
Erin Routliffe and Victoria Azarenka were knocked out in the first round of the women’s doubles at Roland Garros, losing 6-2, 6-3 to Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini on Wednesday.
Routliffe was forced to find a last-minute partner after her regular doubles teammate, Gaby Dabrowski, withdrew due to an injury sustained just before their semifinal in Strasbourg.
She paired with two-time Grand Slam singles champion Azarenka for the tournament.
Despite Azarenka’s credentials, the newly formed pair faced a tough challenge against the No 2 seeds and were broken twice in each set.
They managed just one break of serve in the second set before Errani and Paolini closed out the match in straight sets.
Routliffe will return to action on Thursday in the mixed doubles, where she teams up with fellow Kiwi Michael Venus.
The No 5 seeds will face Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova in the opening match on Court 10, scheduled for 9pm New Zealand time.
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